We had been trying to get a mission for episode 3 going for a while but constantly had been getting held back due to permits, weather and anything else that could go wrong. We had a spot in mind that I had heard about from a couple of friends but had never seen myself and after a lot of research and enquiring we decided would be perfect. The plan was to build an igloo in a spot with lots of terrain around it so we could build the ultimate snowboarding campsite. Jumps over the igloo, quarters, jibs and some lines we could heli near by. The crew was big, Hyna, Stef, a sepo named Seth and myself riding. Heath, James and Tom on the cameras and two guides Elliot and Mike, a dream crew. It finally came together early October. the resorts were closed and the weather in Queenstown was super warm already. We had a two day weather window. The elevation in our chosen spot was about 2300 meters so we hoped the snow would still be ok. Unfortunately it had rained everywhere before cooling enough to snow a little but it was our last chance so we went for it. A quick buzz around the area showed our original spot was a no go.. no snow. Over the ridge we found a cool looking windlip and after landing and a walk and search we decided it would be the best spot. It was still super icy but its was only 8.30am so we got to work and hoped it would soften with the spring sunshine. I was the only one with any igloo building experience, I had built one before. That one took two of us two hours. With 5 people building it should be quick right, wrong! Nine hours later we were putting on the finishing touches. To be fair we built a big big igloo and a jump over it as well. It was done just in time for an evening session. The wind was howling and we were near exhaustion but still managed a few hikes and hits. The way the wind caught you as you flew over the igloo was crazy. I've never been blown out of the sky like that before, theres always tomorrow. Camp dinner, box of wine, look at aurora australis and bed. The next day I woke to movement around the campsite and a perfect warm spring morning. I love how on spring snow missions the days are so long, theres no hurry. Got a bit of a breakfast hang, a stretch, an amazing breakfast and coffee! That day was super fun had a real fun campsite session, handplants and airs on the quarter on the side of the igloo, another jump session and a few fun laps in the heli. Unfortunately the wind was back and we were limited on where we could land so we decided to call it a day and head back to Queenstown. It was a crazy two days and seemed pretty surreal that we had done all we did.
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June 2017
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