Nimbus Independent Blogs Feed

En Route: Departure

erin valverde pollard — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 16:29:00 -0500

Nimbus is back. Our first webisode of three for the year; En Route: Departure takes viewers on a two month adventure. Skiing everywhere from a North American military base, to Mammoth California, the Matterhorn, Rome and finally Monte Bianco in Italy.

En Route: Departure is a full length 40-minute ski movie featuring the original Nimbus crew: Pep Fujas, Eric Pollard, Chris Benchetler, Andy Mahre and Blake Nyman. The movie also features Anthony Boronowski, Bene Mayr, Dylan Hood, Christian Sirianni, and friends. The full length version will be available for download starting on March 15th, 2010 only at: http://nimbusstore.mobilerider.com/store/index.php

The trailer version; En Route: Short will be a 5-minute edit available on all of our affiliate sites.

Mario

erin valverde pollard — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 06:33:00 -0500

Not only is the skiing amazing, the food and wine is tasty too. Every night we find a place to eat and it is always just as good as the last. At the restaurant we ate at last night, there was a waiter there that looked just like Mario... Haha! He was animated like him too!

Nimbus is in Italy!

erin valverde pollard — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 11:25:00 -0500

We are here in Italy traveling around, skiing and seeing the sights. Our crew is, Eric Pollard, Ian Cosco, Chris Benchetler, Ike Smith, Justin Wiegand, Alessandro Belluscio and myself. We were able to go to Rome for a day when we flew in and was able to walk around the city to look at the most beautiful buildings and art in the world. It was amazing! Then we went to a town (Cervinia) right near the Matterhorn to ski... the snow was not that good, so we are now at Courmayeur another massive mountain by Mt. Blanc. We hope we find some good powder here!

that just happened

Eric Pollard — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 15:06:00 -0500

This human drove his sled directly into a creek. It was in plain site. Some people should not be allowed to operate anything with a motor.

Nimbus likes Hasselhoff and Green Screen

Eric Pollard — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 13:28:00 -0500

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJQVlVHsFF8

Cooles tree ever

erin valverde pollard — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 10:21:00 -0500

When we were snowmobiling around the army training center in Sanora, we came accross this crazy tree that looked like an enormous bonsai. We also found some cool cliffs to ski too :)

Our amazing condo in Mammoth

erin valverde pollard — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 10:18:00 -0500

We were able to stay in an amazing condo that we found through 101 great escapes! Ski in ski out three story condo. We had our own hot tub, robes, garage, and rooms galore! Nimbus traveling in style!

Justin

erin valverde pollard — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 10:07:00 -0500

here is justin with his new and improved look. Long curly luscious hair.

just call him crusty or side show wiegand! haha

Dylan and Blake

erin valverde pollard — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 09:27:00 -0500

We have had Dylan Hood and Blake Nyman traveling with us for our new En Route Webisode coming out March 15th. Here are some quick shots from the past month.

Mammoth Backcountry

Chris Benchetler — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 12:26:40 -0500

The crew just finished up a few sunny days in the good ol' mammoth b.c. The wind hit all that fresh snow pretty hard, but we've been making it work.

The rest of the crew will most likely stick it out here in cali, but I am off to Austria with Sirianni to go meet with Atomic as well as shred with a new Nimbus addition, Bene Mayr. I will keep you posted with pics, etc... from over there.

Cheers!

dodging bullets

erin valverde pollard — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 18:25:00 -0500

We are in Sanora Pass Snowmobiling and skiing.... this is where one of the US military bases is located. We have to wait to pass a certain zone till they are done target practicing with automatic weapons. Pretty sweet to see them train. And they are super nice guys that let us take photos with them like tourists.

tobogganing!!!!

erin valverde pollard — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 21:33:00 -0500

Eric, wiegand, and Dylan made a sledding luge in our back yard of our condo in Mammoth. Runs of sunny pow in the morning and tobogganing in the afternoon. So funny!

Mammoth Just Got Buried

Chris Benchetler — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 20:34:53 -0500

Good luck ever finding Mammoth again. It's been snowing more the last few days than I think I've ever seen. We (Nimbus crew) are still here trying to get mad footy for your viewing pleasure, so make sure to check back soon for a whole lot of GoPro edits. In the mean time, here are some more brilliant pics from Peter Morning.

Skiers: Chris Benchetler, Eric Pollard, Dylan Hood, Christian Sirianni

Photographer: Peter Morning

Mammoth Dump Report

Chris Benchetler — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 17:55:15 -0500

I'm sure any of you who live in or around the west coast have heard of and are experiencing the storm cycles that are rolling through at the moment. Fortunately for me, Mammoth is right in the heart of it all, and is expected to receive 10-12 feet in storm total. So, the good Ol' Nimbus crew came out here to make sure all snow falls accordingly, and turns are placed in necessary pockets... We had our first day today and recorded some fun filled footage that will be available for your viewing pleasure soon on www.nimbusindependent.com. For now please enjoy these pics from friend and photographer Peter Morning. Also make sure to check out www.chrisbenchetler.com for more pics.

Winter Storm Warning...

Chris Benchetler — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 17:39:37 -0500

Nimbus is here in Mammoth and the snow is starting to fall heavily, so the plan will be to ski some stormy days, play Wii Nintendo, and wait for the sun to pop. "Because when the sun pops... It's on."

I'll keep you posted.

Virginia Lakes

erin valverde pollard — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 22:27:00 -0500

We made a quick stop at Virginia Lakes on our way to Mammoth... Not too successful.

Lots of snowmobiling on rocks. Wrong Decision!

Mammoth Storm Coming!

erin valverde pollard — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 22:21:00 -0500

Were in California shooting for en route. We were in Sanora for a few days with sun and epic snow getting sun tans, now were in Mammoth and its dumping! Storm skiing Here we come!

Check out Eric here stomping backwards... you will have to wait till the en route to see what it was...

Coming out on March 15th

101 Great Escapes

erin valverde pollard — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 17:46:00 -0500

You will see us at the Juniper Crest #27 in the next EN ROUTE webisode coming out March 15th

101 Great Escapes has the best locations and views in all of Mammoth.Choose from Ski In/Ski Out, Walk to Lift, or Gondola Village Lodging.ALL of the units are at a lift, on the mountain, or next to the Village.

Book yours at: http://www.101greatescapes.com/

Nimbus Opening X-Dance

erin valverde pollard — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 14:20:00 -0500

Check out our movie at the X-Dance Thursday the 21st of January at 3pm Opening flick.

For more info go to: http://x-dance.com/films/19/150?CAKEPHP=06884e83759ca404c84f9256556f6975

En Route Underway!!

Chris Benchetler — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 22:32:05 -0500

After our lack of success in Whistler we decide to try our luck back here in Cali. Sure enough filming didn't get any easier. On the plus side we have sun, but it's very low tide due to a humongous lack of snow. Fortunately, forecasters are claiming 8-12 feet of snow starting next week. And last time I checked, that is plenty of snow to go skiing in. So, we are going to wait it out and see what we can scramble together. As always we are hoping for the best, and make sure to check back here- www.nimbusindependent.com -soon because we will be uploading countless GoPro helmet cam edits. Happy Shredding!! Over and out... C. Benchetler.

Go Pro Whistler Vision

Chris Benchetler — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 17:58:19 -0500

Firstly, very sorry for no posts lately. We, well mostly Eric, have been working hard to revamp this trusty ol' Nimbus site to bring you much more frequent videos.

As of late, I went to Whistler, sat in the rain, hung out with the Nimbus boys again, and already drove back home. We will have videos up soon. I'll keep you posted.

Andy Mahre Will Be in Telluride!!!

erin valverde pollard — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 12:29:08 -0500

Andy Mahre is coming to Telluride on January 21st (Thursday) to hang out at the Alternative Edge in Mountain Village. We will be showing the Nimbus Independent Film, CONTRAST. Andy will be signing DVD's and posters. There will be a raffle for a free pair of K2 skis. On January 22nd, Andy will be Heliskiing with Helitrax in Telluride. To go heli-skiing with Andy Mahre, call Helitrax at 970-728-8377, ask for the Andy Mahre special!

Scariest movie ever!

Isaac Smith — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 09:54:07 -0500

Jackson Hole

Andy Mahre — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 13:59:53 -0500

Sitting here in Jackson Hole after a day of skiing with K2 dealers. They are testing out the new product so they have some hands on experience when it comes time to order and sell the the skis. We have one more day of testing, and then it's back to Yakima for me until friday, when Pep and I head out to India. Yes, there is snow in India. That's the question I get most when I tell people about heading out there. Can't wait. Sorry, no photos of the new product, you will see it soon enough.

Powdy Cakes at Mammoth!

Chris Benchetler — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 09:06:13 -0500

I'm a day late in posting, but can't be blamed... It was my first legit pow day of the season, so I took advantage of every second I had out there.

For those of you that didn't hear, or didn't see first hand, Mammoth got dumped on. On the day it was snowing your tracks were lost every run. And for those of you looking for pow, rumor and forecasting has it that another big storm is rolling in this weekend!

Hopefully this is the start of the long anticipated El Nino season... See you out there, and here are a few pics shot by Peter Morning. Skier: Chris Benchetler

That's Right! More Climbing...

Chris Benchetler — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 09:16:48 -0500

Yes Yes... I do realize winter is here and I'm still posting climbing photos, but I will have you know that the skiing has been sick too!! I just haven't managed to bring out the camera because I've been much more content with lapping the chair. Mammoth recently received 2 feet of powdy cakes and I got my first face shots of the season. I probably also received just as many core shots in my skis, regardless, it was all time...

Until another storm rolls in, my days will probably consist of some skiing in the mornings and a few climbs in the afternoon. I'm overly stoked on the Sierras allowing me to do both in one day, so I'm taking complete advantage while I can.

In addition, filming for our Nimbus webisodes are about to be underway, so you will be getting plenty of snowy posts soon. Hope to see you on the slopes...

-CB

Photography by: Dana Nichols

Climbing by: Chris Benchetler, Julien Lecorps, & Luke Lydiard

Mandala Madness

Chris Benchetler — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 20:14:52 -0500

Lonnie Kauk, Peter Morning, and I headed out to the buttermilks last week so Lonnie could try to send The Mandala. We left Mammoth in freezing temps, hoping it would be perfect for sending, but sure enough the temperature difference between Mammoth and Bishop was huge, so palms and fingers got sweaty real fast. Lonnie was still able to send it with a small power spot I gave him at the bottom. It was super sick to see go down. Now we are just waiting for temps to drop again so he can complete the puzzle... Oh, and I played on some rocks too. It was amazing. Check out our day through the lens of Peter Morning Photography.

Ike 'Fashion Boy' Smith

Chris Benchetler — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 23:02:55 -0500

Well, let me start by saying I'm very jealous of all of you that received The Hood River News on your doorstep and had the pleasure of seeing and laughing at 'Fashion Boy Ike' on the front cover. For those of you that do not receive Hood River news, our very own Nimbus cinematographer hit the runway and dropped his Dragon 'Rob Machado Experience' shades for a peek at the crowd and landed himself a cover... I'm pretty sure Pollard taught him that walk and look, but it's hard telling not knowing.

Anyways, Ike was strutting his stuff for his wife's (Nikki) new clothing company and store 'ICONIC'. So, head out today and get your very own Iconic gear before it's all sold out... And make sure to keep yours eyes on the runway. There's no telling when Fashion Boy will make his next appearance.

Text & Win Free Bent_Chetler's

Chris Benchetler — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 20:58:36 -0500

Click this link- (I Want Free Bent Chetler's!) to enter for a chance to win a new pair of my pro model ski- The Bent_Chetler... Good luck!!

Cheers,

More Gorge-ing

Chris Benchetler — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 20:50:24 -0500

Eddie Wall, Lonnie Kauk, John Jackson, Kimmy Fasani, Saori Renteria, and I all hit up the Gorge for some awesome climbing madness. Fortunately we brought Eddie and Saori (the ultimate documentors) because the rest of us forgot our cameras... We actually have plans to head back down in a day or two, so I will definitely keep you posted with more pics. For now please enjoy these snapshots courtesy of Eddie and Saori.