Amplid is extremely pleased to announce that Canadian ripper Ahren Stein has joined the Ambush Team. Hailing from the flat lands of Ontario, Ahren has been making the annual pilgrimage to the bad lands of Whistler to work on his park and backcountry shredding skills for the last couple of seasons. Ahren’s hard works seems to be paying off as he’s now the owner of a ballistic Switch Dub 10 as well as a bag of tricks that it would take me a month to reel-off. Everybody at Amplid is stoked to have Ahren on the team and we can’t wait to see his progression over the next season.

We caught up with Ahren and asked him a few questions about life, skiing and pirate get-up…

Tell us a bit about yourself?

I’m Ahren, I’m from Cookstown and I’m 20 years of age.

So you’re from Ontario, Canada which on Google maps looks as flat as a maple syrup covered pancake. What are the mountains and the parks like there?

The mountains are pretty much non-existent, we have small hills and valleys.  We do have some pretty banger parks though, Blue Mountain and mslm were awesome places for me to grow up skiing.

How did you get into skiing and particularly freestyle?

My Dad got me into skiing at the tender age of two.  I competed in moguls for about 6 years and during that time I started spending more and more time in the park.  Stopped competing in moguls, started focusing on more park related stuff.

What’s the scene like at your local mountain in Ontario?

I haven’t been around Ontario much for the past couple of seasons, but whenever I go back, there is a new crop of dope little skier kids coming up and killing it.

Last season you were in Whistler for the winter, how was that?

Best season of my life, it was whistlers second snowiest winter on record.  I skied tons of deep pow and of course got to ride their world class parks whenever the snow wasn’t falling.

Did you get into the famous Whistler backcountry much?

I got a taste of it, not nearly enough though.  I’ll be getting out there lots more this winter.

What are your plans for the coming winter?

Lots of skiing, lots of traveling, lots of fun!

Are you planning to ride any comps or shoot any vids?

I’ve got some comps lined up, hopefully dew tour qualifiers, Aspen Open, Mt. Snow Open and maybe a few others.  As for video, I’ll be shooting with the Westward Crew again; they are some seriously talented kids behind the lens.

How does a kid from Ontario, Canada end-up sticking switch dub 10s?

Practice.

Do you have a list of tricks you want to stick during the season? If so, what’s on the list for 2011/12?

I don’t have an exact list but I definitely want to work on my rail game.  Some better right-side tricks and a few more doubles are on my mind.

What amplid skis are you shredding this winter and why?

The syntax’s, because they are the best park ski made, period.

Now for the quick-fire questions

Personality or looks?- looks of course

A hook for a hand or a peg for a leg? - A hook hand, the possibilities are endless!

Wealthy and dumb or wise and poor? - Billy Madison

Snowblade or Monoski? - Mono all day

Rare, medium or ruined? - rare.

Cartel team rider Justin Norman aka J-Norm dropped amplid HQ a little email today to let us know that his new website is live. J-Norm.com features heaps of well shot shred pics of Justin putting his Dopamine through all sorts of grimy street jibs, captured beautifully by the likes of snowboard paparazzi Tyler Orton and Drew Smalley. On a dedicated videos page, there are also oodles of edits from Justin’s summer at Windells with some kink rail bangers that will have you wondering why you haven’t seen more of Justin in the big magazines. Check out Justin’s handy work at J-Norm.com .

Huge news from Cartel team rider Alex Martini. Alex and the rest of the Stept Productions crew took home the ‘Best Jib Movie Palm’ at this year’s IF3 movie awards with their latest release Weight. No mean feat, and even more impressive when you consider that Stept Productions is the only film company to ever move from the AM category to PRO and then win a PRO award!

Weight documents the exploits of the Stept crew as they travel the streets of Boston and Chicago in search of the biggest rails in the world, while running into some inspiring characters along the way. When the cities dry out, the weight is lifted, and the crew finds themselves skiing neck deep powder, and pushing the limits of jumping. As you can see from the trailer, this is a movie you HAVE to own in hardcopy!

At the moment Alex is resting-up and studying hard but his thoughts aren’t far away from the coming season and the next movie in the pipeline; in Alex’s own words

“Things are really looking-up for this next season too, way bigger budget and way far ahead of schedule on getting the new movie started and planned! The plan is to win Best Pro Movie next year at IF3 and I think we are well on our way.”

Spring on the West Coast and the feeling is good, it’s time to pack your bags and get out to Mt. Hood! It’s high time for another West Coast Session, now back for a triumphant fifth year.

Each spring the West Coast Session brings together North America’s top young skiers, videographers and photographers for an unconventional four-day film and photo shoot that has achieved cult status in the ski community. This year’s event takes place May 1-4. The world-class terrain parks of Timberline and the unparalleled training facilities of Windell’s Camp provide the perfect setting for invitees to progress their skills, while media partners Freeskier.com and Downdays.eu present all the action online.

But WCS is more than just a shoot; it’s also a community gathering. On Sunday, May 1 skiers of all ages and abilities are invited to join the crew for an unforgettable day of shred in the parks at Timberline.

The West Coast Session presents a unique opportunity for skiers and filmers, known and unknown, to do their thing for an attentive worldwide audience. In previous years WCS has welcomed well-known skiers such as Sammy Carlson, Anthony Boronowski, Blake Nyman, Kyler Cooley and Mike Wilson, while helping advance the careers of up-and-comers like Tom Wallisch, McRae Williams, Tim McChesney, Sean Jordan and Nick Goepper. Attending filmers have included Duncan Lake of Junction 133/Poor Boyz Productions, 4bi9 Media, LINE Traveling Circus and Stept Productions.

A huge thanks goes out to the hosts and sponsors who make the West Coast Session possible: Amplid, Timberline, Windell’s Camp, Auviq, and Hillcrest Ski & Sports.

2011 invited riders:
McRae Williams
Alex Martini
Steve Stepp
Spencer Millbocker
Collin Collins
Nick Goepper
Ben Moxham
Andrew Hathaway
Jeff Kiesel
Sean Jordan
Witt Foster
Tosh Peters
Max Peters
Tyler Barnes
Kyler Cooley
Tim McChesney
Nick Miles
Dylan Ferguson
John Kutcher
JP Solberg
Will Berman
Alex Schlopy
Karl Fostvedt
Joss Christenson
Dale Talkington

For more information on the West Coast Session, send an email to ethan(at)stone-snow.com.

… starts right here ! :-)

This winter we´ll bring you one fresh ShrEdit every month. Showing action from funny to extreme….

Persented by your Amplid Research Cartel and the Ambush!

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Music:
Where we are is the sun – theXplode

http://www.myspace.com/thexplode

Click here to view the embedded video.

Горы. Целина. Для кого-то – просто слова.
Но если ты любишь это также, как мы, тогда нам с тобой по пути.
Стремясь к неизведанному, мы ищем свою линию, свою траекторию.
Наша жизнь – это движение.
А движение – это свобода.
Это фрирайд.

feat. Anna Khankevich