Windells Part 2 - The Darkside

Although I was done working at Windells. I decided to stay and ski another week to film more with Reed for “The Darkside”, and to improve on a few tricks for this winter and contests. Before we got back up on the lane we had our in-between session that started off with one of the, if not the best sporting event I’ve ever been to, Street League.

The Street League Course

All the staff members at Windells got free tickets for the event, and the entire time we were amazed. Every time I would see the pro skaters do something insane, and be that consistent at it, I thought I was watching a video game. Skateboarders impress me, and they destroy it all over the place.

Cannon Beach: NW photo

For the rest of the in-between we made it back out to the Oregon Coast for another fun time with the friends. This time we were able to have two bonfires and on the second night ended up finding a better spot. During the daytime some would go skimboarding, others surfed, but we mainly had a fun time relaxing before going back to camp.

Bonfire 2.0 with all the camp friends

This week was by far the best park for me. The park crew fixed the big jump, and moved the rope tow up so you could lap the big jump quickly. During this week I started to get into a pattern with how my days would go. Arrive early to the lane; lap the lower jumps to warm up, and then head to the big jump for the rest of the day.

This whole week was such a blast, and a lot of it was thanks to skiing with my buddy Alex Hackel. Always such a positive kid, and brings out the best in everyone. Skiing with him definitely pushed me throughout the week, and we had so much fun playing S.K.A.T.E and learning random pipe tricks.

Hackel mid Switch Dub 10 on the big jump

Everyday this week I tried to ski as hard as I could to work on getting shots with Reed. When the session was coming to an end, Reed convinced me to stay a few days longer to film. Since he wouldn’t have to coach that week, and could throw down an entire day instead of just at the end. I decided to stay around, and I’m very glad I did. During those 3 days we got the majority of good shots and ended up making the edit so much better!

Reed and I working on the final shot of the Darkside. Photo by: Gill Montgomery

For those who haven't seen it yet, or if you would like to watch it again. Here's the Darkside: 

After the 3 days were over it was time for me to leave Hood for the rest of summer. Luckily I was able to hang out with good friends Tyler and Cj up in Government Camp one more night. The following morning I met up with my brother Josh in Hood River and left for a family reunion. 

 Thanks again to Windells for having me out this summer, and for all the good times. Already looking forward to heading back to Hood this winter! 

 -Noah