Area 43, Les Houches DC Snow Park, Chamonix

Christian & I were itchin' to shoot some action with my new Profoto lighting system, so we decided to scout out the local "Area 43" DC Snow Park. Les Houches is a large complex of piste runs a good 1500m+ above the main car park & lift.. the recce was a must, with each battery pack & lamp head weighing in at 25+ Kgs, we had to be sure we could get them and the rest of our camera gear up and down the mountain, which, could have been a nightmare journey on chairlifts & trekking from piste to piste to get there, and that's without getting back down.. neither of us wanted to walk out! so we couldn't believe our luck when we turned up on our scout.. there was a Mountain train running from Saint Gervais (yep, Ricky's a saint!) right into the bottom of the snow park slope.. result!

The following slideshow came from the next two days working the shoot on the snow park. Big thanks to Julian from DC "Area 43" for helping us out & letting us setup on this amazing DC park.

Sadly, since shooting, we have heard this park is under threat of closure, as the local ski lift company has been asked to give the slope up for a racing/slalom training course. We hope they see sense & keep this freestyle stomping ground open... there is some amazing local talent who will lose out if this place goes...  


DC Snow Park Shoot - Les Houches from Si Crowther on Vimeo.

Prestige Heli Ride

Got a phone call whilst half way up Le Tour Mountain slopes, Emma was calling, she'd arranged a little Heli trip from Courmayer Mountain helipad back down to Argentiere via the Chamonix valley.

It was a crack of dawn start.. We were to drive to Courmayer & head up to the Helipad near the summit, There we would meet the guests from Prestige & shoot the helicopters & guests arrival on the slopes..

That leaves the helicopter empty for the journey back... and we can't have that can we! so the plan was for me & Emma to jump in & ride back down to Argentiere..

On the morning we arrived at the gondela lift to find massive queues, we are talking HUGE! it was the French half term week & we had just ten minutes to get up the mountain via two lifts... Time for some serious queue jumping! We were not popular, but needs must! hahaha.. Christian made some great friends for life as he made his way through the crowd.. bloody funny watching him try and explain " 'ellicopteur in cinq minutes " when challenged by an angry French woman.. hahaha priceless!

A massive thank you to Oli Rosenberg from Prestige Outdoor for arranging the Trip & Emma your a star for making it all happen & getting us through those crowds just in time... good skillz!

Check out CMBH Helicopters of Chamonix too, well worth it if you are in the area... I'll be doing the full Mont Blanc tour next time I go back for sure!

Last Minute Road Trip..

Its been a few years since I'd been to the Alps, & it was a trip long overdue.. the years I'd spent following the UK wave tour & the frequent winter getaways had left no room (or funds) for other trips, but this year it was time for change. It was also a great opportunity to shoot something different & mess around with my new Profoto lighting setup, so I called up photog mate Christian Black & told him we were heading on a road trip... get packing!

A few emails & phone calls later, we were all set with a loose plan... Van full of fuel, more photo gear than you can shake a stick at, snowboard gear & a Sat Nav programmed for Chamonix! 

Time to hit the road! 

It's taken a while to get this blog looking how I want, I'm pretty happy with it (for now) so keep checking back for updates, I'll be adding new stuff & backdating it by adding some of my best trips from the past two years.... Enjoy.

Laterz

Si