I was invited to participate in the Samsung Deep Winter photo challenge at Whistler Blackcomb by Chris McLeod, thanks, Chris. It was a blast. There was a total of six photographers that had three days to put a slideshow together featuring our best shots. Everyone did an amazing job regardless of the time constraint and warm temps. I didn’t win anything but am super proud of the work I put in the team of all-star boarders that worked with me, and the huge online support from friends everywhere. I asked more borders to shoot with me than I needed, thinking a few would have to bail, but almost everyone I asked showed up in a big way. Nic Heringa, Derek Molinski, Scot Brown, Keenan Filmer, E-man Anderson, Logan Short, Colin D Watt, and Rhett Haubrich made up a heavyweight team. At first, I worried it was gonna be tough for everyone to get organized, but it was good times all around. There was always a “peanut gallery” with beers and doobies to heckle and keep things fun. The biggest help I got was from my buddy Jarrod Au. He came up from Vancouver to help with lighting and ended up helping with everything. Thanks, J Au! Special thanks to Rhett for sending a huge laid out backflip from the top of the ice cave creating one of the best photos. – Rob Lemay
