"Xavier Bertoni of France sticks his tongue out while going inverted during men's skiing superpipe eliminations at the Winter X-Games at Buttermilk Mountain outside Aspen, Colo., on Saturday, Jan. 30, 2010. Bertoni qualified fourth but went on to claim the bronze medal Sunday night."
"Sick brah, I just stomped that cab double-corked 1260 in the U-ditch with so much steeze son."
If that didn't conjure up an ounce of sense to you don't worry, you're not alone. Spend a weekend in Aspen at the Winter X-Games and you'll develop so much new vocabulary that people will start to mistake you for Webster's.
I just got back from four great days watching and shooting one of the best free, yes free, events in the country. A friend of mine has a house in Basalt just outside of Aspen so when the opportunity came I jumped at the chance to go.
Here's the catch, I didn't have a credential.
Access to a lot of the events that happen up the mountain are not open to spectators so I focused on what I could get access to, the superpipe. I'm sure that most people have seen superpipe events on TV but there is nothing like being just feet away from an athlete with nicknames like the "flying tomato" flying inverted out of a 22-foot solid ice wall right over your head.
The only drawback? It's cold, really cold. We were in line at 4pm for events that didn't start until 6pm and stayed until the last run at nearly 9pm. After five hours out in the elements the feeling in your feet and hands are long gone. Attempting to stand on the edge of an icy, angled surface presented some problems as well. Thankfully I had a leatherman tool in my snowboarding jacket that we used to carve out foot holes.
Shooting an event I've never seen in person, out in the elements and with limited access was definitely difficult but making images for myself, without an editor or client in my back pocket is one of the best feelings as a photographer.
-JCE
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