Spring Fling | Ober Gatlinburg | March 9, 2014

As you know, it's usually Allan that heads up to Ober Gatlinburg to photograph their skiing and snowboarding events, and that's fine with me because I don't ski or snowboard, the idea of hurtling down a snow-covered mountain isn't all that appealing. I'm good at finding a place to hang out, sit in the sun and read a book. Or enjoy a Bloody Mary. {Not a Ober Gatlinburg, but at Beaver Creek in CO. Perfect way to enjoy a day on the slopes as far as I'm concerned!}

Allan is ready to ski!

Well, Allan asked me to come along to photograph the Spring Fling on Sunday, March 9th and I gave in. And I am glad I did! It was a lot of fun, the weather was amazing and everyone had a great time competing in the various events and participating in the much anticipated pond skimming. Yes, pond skimming. The idea was to skim across the pond {more like a small pool} and get to the other side without taking a dip. The majority of the participants made it across. A few, not so much.

We arrived early in order to get a good parking spot so we didn't have to lug our photography gear uphill then we set about figuring out where all the events would be held and what time they would begin. Then we ran into our friend Joe Thompson. Joe, along with his awesome wife Kelli, is instrumental in organizing one of our favorite charities to photograph, Eskimo Escapades. Joe had brought along a couple of SnowBikes to ride and talked Allan into taking one for a spin. It didn't take much to convince Allan to do this because he loves anything fast and kind of sketchy. Think mountain biking meets motorcycle racing...

Allan had skied up to the photograph first event of the day, Giant Slalom, while I stayed at the bottom and chatted with Joe. Then it was time for the Big Air contest and I trudged up the mountain {carrying Allan's heavy equipment bag just in case he took a break from snowbiking for photography} and captured most of the event. I wasn't paying attention to the schedule and missed some of the competitors. The last event we shot was the pond skimming. You have to see the photos to appreciate this event! In between events there was some lively competition between the ski school instructors and the ski patrol. The ski school instructors won the overall competition and were awarded a golden ski boot at the awards ceremony where Ober Gatlinburg was excited to announce they had been open 100 days this season. Sweet!

We will be back next year to shoot the events in the Terrain Park and Spring Fling. Yes, we. I loved it and it was kind of like a date for Allan and I, spending the day together doing something we both love. Here are some photos from the day and you can also find all of the images available for free download here and on our Facebook page here and via the box below. There is a listing of winners below as well.

 

Post by ALM Photo.

Here are the top finishers from the Spring Fling:

Overall Combined (GS and Big Air)

Skiers Adult Division

1. Chad Jensen
2. Sean Pross
3. Jimmy Kuneman

Snowboarders Adult Division

1. Daniel Holtkamp
2. Brian Beauchene
3. Jesse Hudleston

Skiers Grom Division

1. Garret Soehn
2. Derele Martin
3. Colin Kuneman

Snowboarders Grom Division

1. Bailey Allo
2. Karsen Cramerhack
3. Parker Vance

Best GS Time

Skiers Adult Male – Chad Jensen
Skiers Adult Female – Stacey Henderson

Snowboarders Adult Male – Daniel Holtkamp
Snowboarders Adult Female – Hannah Denny

Skier Grom – Garret Soehn
Snowboarder Grom – Bailey Allo
Skier Grom Female – Felecity Fulcher

Best Big Air Score

Skier – Sean Pross
Snowboarder – Tyler Catlett
Lady – Stacey Henderson

See you next season!!

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Sunday Session | Ober Gatlinburg | February 23, 2014

It was a spring-like day in Knoxville on Sunday, so who wouldn't think it was a great day to hit the Freestyle Terrain Park at Ober Gatlinburg for Sunday Session 5.2? With temperatures in the mid 60's this past weekend, most folks might have hauled their bicycles or motorcycles out of the garage and gone for a spin, but not Allan. Allan loaded the Prius up with his camera gear, tossed in his skis and boots and hit the road for Gatlinburg. Allan goes up to the slopes as often as possible to take photographs of the action in the terrain park. It gives him to a chance to get some skiing or snowboarding in as well as connect with friends he's known since his days as a ski racer, working at Alpine Ski Center and when he had his own winter/water sports shop, Precision Sports in the Karns community.

Allan posted this selfie> "66 degrees & 100% open@ Ober, sun tan and skiing/snowboarding."

He said the weather was great and everyone had a fabulous time. Except for Nathan Phillips, owner of The Board Room. Apparently Nathan tumbled while snowboarding and injured his shoulder and missed the Sunday Session excitement. If you are in Knoxville and need winter sports gear, visit Nathan's shop. He's a really great guy and he'll probably be hanging out in the shop recovering for a while.

We'll both be at Ober Gatlinburg on March 9th for the Spring Fling. It's the last event of the season! And if you are like me and not a skier or snowboarder there are lots of other things to do at Ober, like eat and shop.

Here are some of the awesome photos Allan captured Sunday. Lots of flips, jumps and crazy outfits! He'll be posting them on our ALM Photo Facebook page and they are on our SmugMug site too. Be sure to tag your friends on FB and share the photos!

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No excuses! Just fun!

Sometimes Allan gets all the fun! He recently spent a frigid day atop Beech Mountain loaded down with gear to capture photographs and video of folks involved with several different adaptive skiing programs. With some amazing technology, skilled assistants and a sheer love of throttling down a snowy slope; anyone can ski. I'll just let the images speak for themselves. 

View all of the images here!

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