Let Loose Tour SD to SF

By: Joe Carter
Photos: Joe Carter, Cody Rosenthal, Luke Mitrani, Elliott Levitt

As we are about to get into full blown winter coming up before we know it. There was an idea floating around that it would be a good time to have one last RV trip. However this one was much different than all the others. There will be no snowboarding going down. No video premiers. Some fun skateboarding, and on the way there have very loose plans about getting up to San Francisco. Oh, and we did a bit of partying too. Hence the name, The Let Loose Tour. The trip started out in Carlsbad where we headed up North with Cody Rosenthal, Mike Casanova, Elliott Levitt and myself. Then we made a random spot in Ventura to Meet up with Harrison Gordon, where we convinced him to jump in for the party on wheels. Our first official stop for the night was in San Luis Obispo to meet up with Luke Mitrani, Josh Warnick, Matt Hooper and more for a party we were throwing with some of the kids that go to school at Cal Poly. Stocked up with a few kegs and the finest plastic bottled handles, keeping it real classy. Thanks to everyone from Cal Poly snowboard and ski club people for helping us with a good time and setting up a house for us to rage at.  Great times.

The next morning started a little late but we had made our way up to San Francisco for what we were getting there for. A three day bluegrass festival taking place at Golden Gate Park with six stages and great tunes blaring throughout the whole park. Again there we would meet up with many more of the homies that cruised out from Tahoe with Danny Davis. Making our entourage of party animals a much larger herd for great times with great people. Let loose.

- Pretty much the whole drive up there were views like this. Not too shabby (P: Joe)

- Cody recovering well from his back injury last May at Superpark. (P:Luke)

- Nova and Luke posted up. (P:Cody)

- Double Documentation on this trip (P:Luke)

- Harrison jumping in for the tour

- Guzzlin

- If you have seen many of the other stories about our travels in the RV you would probably know by now this is pretty standard

- Making our stop for the night in SLO. I think Nova ran down there and tried to wrestle some of these things. (P: Cody)

- Not too pumped(P: Cody)

- Harrison Garfield

- It would probably be no big deal for this bird to peck your eyes out.

- Just hanging out

- This guy was chill. Letting me get really close

- Finally getting some skating in. Harrison locking into a backside nosegrind

- Time for a dip

- Luke is down

- Now the night begins

- Rollin Up

- Since we are at a college party it’s only appropriate to have some keg stands right off the bat

- Josh Warnick

- Getting off with some product

- Squid cutting up some rug

- Elliott starting out the first night in SF

- Teamwork shot (P: Elliot)

- Not exactly a trolley that you expect in San Fran, but the bus is cheap

- The buses in SF are really big, so if you want to drink beers, you just have to go to the back. Amazing

- Parking a big RV in a city is not always the easiest thing. So I parked it in the back of a funeral home when we were in a sketchy part of town

- Lots of awesome music

- Too damn drunk to remember who this was, but they were pretty sick

- Danny Davis having an awesome time

- Partying

- Nice gear Luke (P:Cody)

Tags: Cal Poly, Cody Rosenthal, Danny Davis, Elliott Levitt, Harrison Gordon, Joe Carter, Josh Warnick, Let Loose, Luke Mitrani, Matt Hooper, Mike Casanova, San Francicso

Tales from The Trips Ptown to SD With FRENDS Part 5/6

Words: Joe Carter
Photos: Joe Carter & Other people I don’t remember

So all the premiers are finished and Luke, Jack, and Danny all had flights Sunday morning so we all went for it Saturday night with starting the night with some amazing sushi to fill up for a huge night of running wild downtown.

- Sam looking ready for battle as he sharpens a butter knife using Cody’s back brace as his armor

- It’s always good to start a big party night with sushi and plenty of drinks before you hit the streets of San Diego

- Cole and I really having a good time

- Olympic Hopeful Luke Mitrani

- Cole taking it up a notch triple fisting, while Jack, Sam and I are only doing doubles

- Definitely do not remember who took this one

- Jack and Benji Ritchie

- road sodas

- Cole Barash on the other side of the lens

- Me and Sam Spedale

- Hey, can you fill me up? Hobo beer bong

- I have no clue what’s going on here. Cole Barash, Benji Ritchie, Mikey Rencz, Danny Davis, Amber, and Jack Mitrani

- There was no way I was not going to put this picture up

- Danny Davis killing it

- Jeremy Grendahl and Roy is looking sooooo sketchy in that backround

Tales from The Trips Ptown to SD With FRENDS Part 4/6

Words: Joe Carter
Photos: Joe Carter

You would say that after the premiers the night before most of the snowboarders in San Diego have a rough Saturday morning. I had no intentions of heading to the ASR tradeshow this year and stuck with them. Luke, Jack, Danny, Amber, and I headed to the convention center to meet up with Keir Dillon. We got there just in time for them to close the doors and tell us that registration was closed and no more badges to get in where to be given out. So now what? Might as well head across the street and grab some drinks.

- Almost made it to the show, pretty pumped I didn’t

- FRENDS downtown in SD

- Keir is not afriad to have a camera pointed at him

Tales from The Trips Ptown to SD With FRENDS Part 2/6

Words: Joe Carter
Photos: Joe Carter, Jack Mitrani, Danny Davis

After a full day of not feeling to well from the previous nights activities Thursday morning was time to get back on the road for the second half of the drive. With a few stops at Airports in Sacramento, then LAX. Then a stop in the middle of nowhere for the FRENDS to make a skit for Fuel that should turn out pretty hilarious. The final destination of our night was to end up at Kevin Pearce’s house in Carlsbad. Where we would meet up with Cole Barash, Eric Warner, Sam Spedale, and Cody Rosenthal. Who is recovery well after his brokeback injury at Superpark.  You can still help out by checking this link out http://www.snowboard-revolution.com/news/Love-for-Cody-Rosenthal-_-Back-Fundraiser.html

- Luke enjoying the 95 degree breeze of Interstate 5

- Danny, Hayley, and Jack

- Danny ready to find the closest watering hole

- Boner pills for chicks? What will they think of next?

- Middle of fucking nowhere

- Jack, Luke and Dan looking or a ride

- Amber getting the shot and showing some sideboob

- For lots of videos and more check out thisisfrends.com

- Nice stance Danny

- Trippy man

Tales from The Trips Ptown to SD With FRENDS Part 1/6

Words: Joe Carter
Photos: Joe Carter

Hello there boys and ghouls. Tales Tales From The Trips are coming back this season with a vengeance. All year long you will be able to check out plenty of shredding, stories from the road, some antics, good times, and a whole lot of getting loose with some of your favorite riders and yours truly. To start out the first entry of this year, after an amazing summer at Mt. Hood I saddled up and hit the road out of Portland by myself in the Snowrev RV. With plans of shooting strait down to San Diego so I can make it in time for Transworld’s Get Real video premier. As I hit Sacramento my plans immediately changed for a big party night in Truckee for one of our buddies 21st birthday party with all the homies including Luke and Jack Mitrani. Along with  Danny Davis hosting the rager at his pad . Everybody else had been partying solid for hours. Luckily for me, after a long drive from Oregon I tend to be pretty good at catching up when it comes to putting back beers down. Great way to start a solid bender.

- Satan’s Chariot

- Looks like I need to make a stop

- There’s other things in Weed other then homegrown

- Steep trannies and solid views of Mt. Shasta. Amazing park

- One of the two local dudes there, frontside air in Weed California

- Taking the I-5 through Northern California is amazing

- More solid views

- Taking pictures on a tight bridge in a 30 foot RV is sketchy

- Dave, Dakota, and Dubbers fully tuned up

- This must not be too late into the night because there is still some beers around

Mt. Hood Daily Update July 1st

By: Joe Carter

As we say goodbye to June and hello to July, the action up here on Mt. Hood can’t be better. Timberline still has plenty of snow for top to bottom runs, for a little longer, and both High Cascade, Windells, and even public park are in good shape.

- Gigi Ruff really getting extended riding the High Cascade mini pipe. Andrecht to fakie

- FRENDS, (L-R) Snook, Adam Pearce, Danny Davis, Luke Mitrani, Jack Mitrani, Keir Dillon
www.thisisfrends.com

- Danny Davis gapping to back lip on the High Cascade kink rail

- Eiki Helgason making an appearance this week to ride at Windells

- Scott Stevens has got frontside inverts better then you do

- Over at Windells Austin Hironaka putting down a switch backside 540 as he calls it a day and heads back down the hill

Tags: Adam Pearce, Austin Hironaka, Danny Davis, Eiki Helgason, FRENDS, Gigi Ruff, High Cascade, Jack mitrani, Joe Carter, Keir Dillon, Luke Mitrani, Mt. Hood, Scott Stevens, Snook, Timberline, Windells

FRENDS Day 3 On Hill At HCSC

Words: Joe Carter
Photos: Joe Carter

For the third day on hill with the FRENDS this one was the most heated session yet. With the pipe freshly groomed and a clinic going on everyone was throwing down. Take a gander at the most photo heavy day so far with the FRENDS Crew and keep checking in for plenty more.

- Luke Mitrani blasts a huge Michalchuck on his second run through the Superpipe

- Luke again this time with a massive cab 7

- Campers pumped to watch Scotty Lago destroy HCSC’s Pipe

- Scotty has maybe the coolest looking frontside 9 ever contorting with a nose grab

- Jamie Anderson taking a little stroll up the deck

- Jamie cruising through poking out a stalefish

- Jack Mitrani gets over fellow FREND Scotty with an ally-oop nosegrab

- Scotty boning out a front 5 while Ross gets the shot

- Scotty again going HUGE!!! Frontside 7

- Mason Aguirre

- It would suck to get stuck in the air like this. Good thing Mason is good at Cripplers and stomps this one with ease.

- Danny Davis

- Danny tweaking hard like many of the meth heads located around Oregon

- Danny Switch backflip

Tags: Danny Davis, FRENDS, HCSC, High Cascade, Jack mitrani, Jamie Anderson, Joe Carter, Luke Mitrani, Mason Aguirre, Mt. Hood, Scotty Lago, Timblerine

FRENDS Crew Signature Session Day 1 At High Cascade

Words: Joe Carter
Photos: Joe Carter

This session up here at High Cascade is gonne be a good one. With all of the FRENDS crew and Jamie Anderson here for their signature session at High Cascade all week, things might get a little crazy. Today on the hill was a mellow one, but it’s safe to say having all these riders here the level of shredding will be pretty damn high. Just make sure you are checking in every day on snowrev to get the inside scoop on what’s happening this week and the rest of the summer.

- Jack Mitrani just trying to get a better view of Mt. Jefferson from up there

- Luke Mitrani and Snook hanging with some of the campers

- Mason Aguirre

- Mason 50-50 to back lip on one of the many digger creations

- There is no better meal in Govy after a long day of riding than Cobra Dogs. Gigi Ruff and Bobby Meeks know what’s up

Crew: Springtime In Mammoth
Words: Joe Carter
Photos: Joe Carter

Springtime in Mammoth is going off right now. Camping, snowboarding, then skating the park in the afternoon. This is the place to be right now. With WCI this weekend happening there are plenty of people in town including the FRENDS crew. Here are some pics from a couple of days taking laps in Mammoth’s main park and skating at the JLA skatepark.

- No shortage of snow around here anytime soon.

- Shayne Pospisil, Luke Mitrani, and Desiree Melencon taking some ganjala runs.

- Luke blasting a ally-oop Japan in the Superpipe.

- Keith looking gangster as hell, frontboard on one of the down bars in Main Park.

- Kevin Pearce blasting a stalefish down the pipe.

- Cody Rosenthal getting some extension on a first hit indy nosebone

- Cody again, now at the skatepark popping a boneless.

- Luke hauling some ass around the oververt in the big bowl

- Cody putting down a fly-out one footed mute grab

- Good end to a long day. Now it’s party time.

Salt Lake to Breckenridge Opening Day

By Mark Dangler

It had snowed about three and a half feet up in little and big cottonwood canyon, last minute Snowbird decided to open and still I believed it would be a good idea to head out to Colorado for Breckenridge’s opening day. Luke Mitrani, heading out on his six-month road trip of shred, offered me a shotgun spot, I accepted and we were off.  We made Lance Armstrong type record time with Luke behind the wheel. Soon we were in colorful Colorado, where there was a simple dusting of snow on the ground, an inch at most and to call the November temps frigid was an understatement.  We met up with Jeremy Thompson, Nick Russell, Joe Carter and the Atmosphere Clothing vagabonds.

Western Colorado rest stop.

Breckenridge’s opening day was here. The seemingly endless wait snowboarders endure every year had found an end, November 7th.  We tried to get up to the mountain as early as possible because damnit if I’m going to be charged $65 for a lift ticket to get me up a single run of man-made crust I’m going to eat some of Breckenridge’s opening day tradition first; free pancakes and coffee.

The only blizzard Colorado has seen yet this year.

We lapped the one run, no boxes, no rails, but ollies and attempts at catching any little bit of airtime were commonplace. It wasn’t long though before we decided to go head over to Keystone.

Luke, Nick, Teddy and Jeremy stoked to be riding lifts.

By the time we had arrived at Keystone the clouds had grown thick, the snow more icy and the lift lines very long. Keystone did have some features set up, but as can be expected on opening day it was like a zoo in their makeshift park. Some typical mellow early season sessions were going down on an a-frame wall ride, a flat box with a mailbox planted in the middle of it and a down bar. Everyone was getting the feeling back working with front boards and presses.

Jake Black blunt to fakie on the A-Frame

The snow was getting real hard, and things wrapped up around 3pm. This wasn’t ideally the best opening day there could be but all things aside, there’s no feeling like the first day back on hill, riding a lift.