As we get ready for 2013, we decided to bring out some hidden gems from the past. Check out this unreleased ad from 2011 featuring Coach Andrew Burns and SGT resident genius David Burg.
We could all use a little culture… from SASS Global Travel on Vimeo.
The 2012 South American winter had the SGT media office fielding calls all July and August. The question, “How do you guys have so much snow when no one else does?” This was not only a honor to our unbelievable button clickers Jon Conway, Ben Girardi and Thomas Tikos-Kadji, but a testament to our coaches and guides. Why? . Because our Patagonia treasure chest was not overflowing with white gold this year, but we did know where to find the snow that made it to the ground. Apparently at a much higher frequency than the rest. Essentially this is what SGT is all about: knowledge and family.
The 2012 campaign was all about fun and SGT was holding all the cards and played every single one. Snow, steak, simple living, the olympics, hiking, sleeping-in, going to town, not coming home from town, Albertos and everything in between. However, the most incredible part of the summer was the people. The secret of SGT is very simple, our people are the best people to hangout and ride with. This year our family, friends and clients added a considerable boost to the experience. Those people are experienced veterans of the education, who breathed a sophistication into camp with reflective dialogue and an inviting smile to anyone lucky enough to make eye contact. Young ladies learning how to get their necks above their heads and bruises on their heels. A sure-fire crew of snowboarding stars from Jackson Hole that tenderized their soft tissue into a cut of meat that rivals the finest veals. Our new British friends that found smiles in every adventure. Some good old boys from Colorado that took in every experience that they could find. These are just a fragment of the powerful personalities that made 2012 the best year in SGT history.
The other part of the people puzzle I previously alluded to is the staff. Six and a half weeks of no sleep (especially Tony P.), constant hiking, late-night entertainment and more red meat than a Wisconsin dairy farm, left only smiles and plans for next season on the staff’s lips. Skylar Holgate, SGT’s answer to James Bond, again led our skilled guides and coaches up Catedral and into the fray. Literally, as there were several trips to the backcountry huts that took place this year, setting the tone of the contrasting styles of master photographers Ben “Condor” Girardi and Thomas “Gypsy” Tikos-Kadji. The pictures below maybe worth a thousand words, but I only come up with one: “Wow”.
Thank you to every client, sponsor, friend, onlooker that made 2012 possible. A special thank you to our staff – Travis “T” Moore, Skylar “Skywalker” Holgate, Michelle “Black Panther” Parker, Lucas “El Mas Blanco” Moore, Garrett “G” Russell, Mauri Cambilla, “Sneaky” Pete Connolly, Nicki “Guerilla” Slechta, Big Fran, David “MVP” Burg, Andrew “Burnsy” Burns, Chris “Bad Ass” Coulter, Tony “Big T” Pavlantos, Ben G., Thomas “Gyspy” Tikos-Kadji, Piers “Semi-Swiss” Solomon, Jon “fats” Conway, Samuel, Miguel, Bonnie, Pachie and everyone else I forgot.
Reflect with your favorite beverage and take a escape break back to the year that was, or a preview into 2013 and your next adventure.
Photos Tikos,Girardi & Crockett
Words Crockett
As I was breezing through the endless flow of online edits to see if anything was worth posting, again disappointed . I was transformed back to my youth for a brief second when I realized I had just received a new SNOWBOARDER magazine that I had not yet perused. Once I thumbed passed a bunch of ads, I could not care less about, I land on a sweet little piece about creativity in snowboarding featuring a trip to Quebec with the Quicksilver team. Since I love poutine and french accents I started reading and judging post haste.
The article featured a bunch of youngsters that were having a group chat about getting shots and creativity in snowboarding. One of the points young buck Ted Borland made was in relation to people being “artsy” and how you can do it without being a “pussy”. Mr. Borland was contenting that you can do all the new school “moves” and do them on big features and make it look good.
As I am want to do, I started thinking, and had the following thought:
If you are unfamiliar with “artsy”, then maybe a class at the local learning annex, taught by your favorite over dramatic thespian is in order. If you have seen or participate in the movement, please start explaining yourself. To an outsider like myself, it just seems like snowboarding has gotten so big that people can get sponsored for “looking at things differently”. Which in raw form is awesome. I have witnessed many events where people went at a gap, rail, jump or line and rode it in a way I did not consider. That is art. The pure form of snowboarding (& skiing) is to do it your way. No coach necessary, no pep talks at half time, no wins or losses, just you and whomever else you choose to explore the terrain and world in front of you. I dig it man.
However, I feel like a lot of young pups today do not send the gap bigger or ride a line differently (some do and they are sick) but mostly many copy what others before them have done and claim it to be their style. You see it everyday, “look at that fake Bradshaw” or “he is the new Tanner Hall”. Even worse, is that this sub-sect of shredding simply is not very good. They have watched all the films (but claim they haven’t, because the are too cool) and realize they do not have the moves of a serious rider. So instead of getting better through time and experience they just do really small tricks on stupid features and claim that they are artists.
Let me clear this up for you, all of the world’s renowned artists mastered their art form before they tried something different. Picasso, Beethoven and even Nicolas Muller who rode and won contests, learned all the tricks and handled all the big lines in Europe before he put on that stupid animal fur hat and destroyed powder in Japan. The message here is own your craft, study it and be able to perform your master stroke, then you can be over it and just do duck unders with a cool scarf and pack of menthols.
-Dr. Crockett
Thomas Tikos-Kadji has been coming down to SGT for more years then snow has been falling in the Andes. Affectionately know as the “gypsy” he laughs his way through the summer having more fun then most and sleeping less then all. Tikos was originally a client of SGT and has worked extremely hard to move up the ranks and earn a spot on staff as a photographer.
Continue reading Thoughts From The Andes: Team Player – Tikos
What is SGT? This has been the quintessential question of my current life. I started here in the Spring of 2012 and have been unable to accurately describe the SGT experience. Instead of continuing to ponder my prose in a feeble attempt to capture the magic. I have decided to take twenty-five minutes to attack the question with unfiltered ramblings.
As the path to and from Catedral resort draws the same basic route with the same cast of irregulars, a sense of monotony can set in. Eyes focus on the man who stands post at an unnecessary car entrance, the groups of groups ignoring basic considerations of their fellow snow bird, or the Saint Bernard that pulls around a publicity seeking entrepreneur. In the greyscale of tradition, something new is always abundant. The position of the tables are set in front of Tage, the renewed brightness in smiles of the snow seekers, the newly shaped landscape each day brings. Experiences are determined by how deeply you gaze.
First a few tips for travelling any where in the world
Always pack a towel. …
Buy a small backpack/suitcase and use the luggage scales to Pack light and only the necessary.
But take extra socks. …
Take an extra bank card and credit card with you or you can get funds with options like that bad credit loan in the UK. …
Make sure to use no-fee bank cards. …
Travel by yourself at least once. …
Don’t be afraid to use a map.
At initial assessment Argentina appears to be a contradiction. The people have no impotence for prompt arrivals or need to keep appointments, yet they rush to lines and push for the front. Non-consideration for people is king as the faceless mob mentality dominates the streets and public squares, however individual relationships are personal, genuine and sincere.
I’m currently down in Argentina with SASS Global Travel, enjoying the winter fun that Catedral, near Bariloche, has to offer. The backcountry around Catedral is endless, and on a clear day a view out West gives one a true glimpse at the massive scale of the Andes. Today’s crew, consisting of myself, Daniel Ochoa, and SGT guide Chris Coulter and pro snowboarder Robin Van Gyn, had hopes of touring out to the Zebra Chutes, an hour or so out into the Catedral backcountry. The four main chutes descend up to 2,000 feet of vertical and are broken up further by hundreds of vertical granite rock formations, giving the appearance of zebra stripes. The stripes create a maze of smaller chutes, all incredibly steep and with narrow chokes and run-outs. These epic lines can only come together with the perfect concoction of snowpack, weather, group dynamics, and timing, which is why bagging one of these lines could easily be the best run of any splitboarder’s life. Continue reading From the Mind of an Intern: Outback Adventure
SASS Global Travel is the unfortunate victim of false advertising. SGT is an organization that sharpens a teenager’s sense of sarcasm. Now, when reading this, you might be sitting there thinking, “who are you to tell me that I accidentally sent my son down to jerk school?” And my answer is simple: oh, I’ll tell you who I am. I am a painfully sarcastic teenager that stepped through the doors of this ski experience at the ripe age of fifteen, with a pocket full of dreams and a brain more malleable than play-doh. Perceptive as I was though, it didn’t take me long to realize that there was, in fact, a hierarchy around the house, unlike I had expected.
The revered SGT boss man did not gain his power from his position, age, or even skiing ability. During my first year I looked up to a twelve-year-old Italian kid who spoke about as much English as I did Spanish (and let’s just say I’m the king of the ‘Smile and Si’). If you had the jokes, the ability to hit your opponent hard and above the belt, you could be having head guide Skylar Holgate make you afternoon snacks within days of your arrival, which I quickly was.
Today was the first powder day for Session Two down here at SASS Global Travel. With only two inches at the base this morning, everyone was preparing for dust-on-crust conditions for the day. As we climbed higher up the mountain it became apparent that snow on the upper mountain was stacked much higher. The crust could still be felt under the snow for the first few runs, but as the day went on, and the snow stacked higher, the bottomless turns became more regular.
Friday announced with sun and speculation. Signaling mother earth to power up legs and send big air. The unshaven savages of SGT Argentina (Chris Coulter & Andrew Burns) co-mingled up with clients Jimmy Hessler, Jack Hessler and Chase Josey to gain lift like condors probing the clouds in search of the sky’s limit in The Arnet Winter Net 2012 at Cerro Catderal.
The SGT family laid down skis and boards, erected a cheering sections and hang over dens in support of the jumping, friends and fun. The show saw a menagerie of Siente Ventes (720’s) in the qualify rounds forcing 4 members of la familia into the final.
At conclusion the crowd witnessed Andrew Burns conquer third place and claim a nice pay day (which he donated to the good people at Mute). SGT friend and heavy hitter Matti Schmitt stood tall in second and “The Legend” Chris Coulter soared a massive front side 900 well past the perceived landing zone to his well tone legs and 1st place.
Thank you to all the competitors for preforming the appropriate spins and awakening the snow gods, allow us to receive the gift of snow today.
R: Chris “The Legend” Coulter P: Ben Girardi