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February 26th, 2010Snowbarding in Miass, Russia.
March 7th, 2010
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Snowboarder hitting the jump in Miass, Russia.
Some shots from today’s session in Miass, Russia. Snowboarders on the two main jumps right out front, and also some killer shots of the halfpipe on the side of mountain.
In the halfpipe...
nice jump!
The weather is warming up but the snow is still falling! Now is the perfect time to hit the slopes, here in the Southern Ural Mountain Range.
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Snowboarding in Miass.
March 3rd, 2010I’ve been spending a lot of time on the slopes lately, and snapping some pics as well!
check out the photos in the Viewer Photo Gallery!
In the halfpipe...
maslenitsa
February 28th, 2010
Skatepark in Chelyabinsk, Russia.
February 28th, 2010
Skatepark owner, Yegor catching some indoor air.
Photo Gallery
As far as parks go, there’s only two places people can skate in Chelyabinsk. During summer there’s a third park that is outdoors and it sports a half-pipe. But if you want to skate in the winter time, and if it’s not ice skating, then you’ve only got two options.
I visited one of them the other day. It was a difficult time finding it, mostly because of my limited abilities in speaking Russian language. But I finally found a friend that took me there and introduced me to the owner. It’s an indoor park on the fourth floor of a mall!
Unknown skater in the park.
Once I found the park, I was stoked! It’s small and really just the basics for street and freestyle skating, no bowls or anything, but it’s indoors and away from the cold Russian winter. A fine place to grind!
Unknown railsliding in Chelyabinsk skatepark.
Get Ready for Spring Break, 2010!
February 17th, 2010
- hands free beer holder, bikini breaker on south padre island.
Students are slamming the internet looking for the latest travel information, trying to decide where the the hottest spot will be. Will it be Cancun, South Padre, Lake Havasu? Will the economy have an effect on their travel plans? Or will they go all out, do or die and reach the beach of their choice? One thing is for sure, it’s gotta be a beach! Anything less is just not the traditional arena for the college festivities and social networking (read: drinking games while wearing bikinis).
Check out some of the past spring break fun and games on South Padre Island.
Words and Photos by: Chuck Turkington
BGV Fest: Snowboards, Freestyle Motocross, and Live Music!
February 12th, 2010
Flying high during the BGV Fest in Magnitogorsk, 2010.
Deep in the snow of Russia, along the Euro-Asia line that is known as the Ural Mountains, is a tucked away mountain near Magnitogorsk. This resort area, Metallurg-Magnitogorsk (Bannoe Lake), is home to one the the finest ski and snowboard mountains found in the Southern Ural Range and, just like several years in a row, it once again hosted the wrap-up of the annual BGV Festival. For three days and two nights, boarders packed the area to participate and of course, to party!
Final jump on BGV course, rider boosts in front of the crowd.
The BGV Festival is Russia’s winter extreme sports competition which heavily focuses on snowboarding, but includes a freestyle motocross show, extreme ski jumpers and live music for the frothing…err, freezing crowd. The snowboard competition is part of the Swatch TTR World Snowboard Tour, which helps to rake in some world class talent as riders are competing to earn a spot amongst the world tour.
BGV starts in Krasnoyarsk, Siberia as a 3-star event with an open invitation to all riders. Following the competitions are live performances from some of Europe’s most popular music acts. While anyone can compete in the Siberian event, only the best are invited to further participate in the main event at Metallurg-Magnitogorsk.
Gnarly flip in front of the audience, during BGV Festival, 2010 in Metallurg-Magnitogorsk.
On Friday, February 5th. 2010, the festival and competition started. The first day consisted mainly of elimination rounds. Only invited riders and wild-card holders were able to battle it out and earn their spot for the following night’s big air and freestyle competition. Riders from Russia, Sweden, Austria, Slovenia, Argentina, and Finland sported the BGV jersey and strapped into their snowboards, looking to grab a piece of the 600K Ruble ($ 20K) prize-purse.
With big coin on the line, and a big crowd of screaming fans, riders push themselves to their limits and we witnessed some gnarly wipe-outs, with at least one cracked helmet.
One of the few wipe-outs during the BGV snowboard competition.
After the first round of jumps and tricks, the crowd only had to turn around to watch and dance to a set played by MC Noize. Fans gathered tightly in front of the stage and steam was literally boiling into the air. He played a 20 minute set and then the sound of two-stroke motorcycles cracked into the crisp air. The freestyle motocross show was next up and the crowd was ready for more eye candy.
BGV Festival, halftime freestyle motocross show.
The final snowboard contestants made their way up the mountain, via a quick trip behind a snowmobile, and the last round was underway. These guys pushed the envelope and pretty much tried to launch into space. Like bullets, they screamed down the track and flew into the cold black night, twisting and contorting their boards and bodies to simulate the skateboarding tricks that the sport is based on. It was nuts! A killer show, for sure and the crowd loved every ounce of it.
On the stage, MC Noize performs during the BGV Festival, 2010.
RESULTS FOR BGV FEST 2010:
1 Chris Soerman (SWE) – frontside board slide to fakie, switch backside 900 indy, backside 900 indy
2 Alexey Sobolev (RUS) – switch frontside board slide, switch backside 900 indy, frontside 1080 tail
3 Zebastian Landmark (SWE) – blunt to fakie, switch backside 900 indy, frontside 720 tail
4 Chris Kroell (AUT) – frontside board slide, frontside 1080 stale fish, backside 720 mute
5 Sergey Lapushkin (RUS) – backside board slide, backside 1080 mute, frontside 900 melon
6 Otto Veijola (FIN) – switch frontside board slide, cab 900 nose, frontside 720 melon
7 Ludwg Lekner (SWE) – frontside board slide to Danish, frontside 900 tail, switch frontside 900
8 Petek Matevz (SLO) – backside board slide to fakie, switch backside 720
Words and Photos by: Chuck Turkington
Dolphin Show in Chelyabinsk, Russia? You bet!
January 26th, 2010Photo Gallery-Dolphin Show
In the middle of a harsh Russian winter, there’s been some warm tropical activity in the center of Chelyabinsk. In this college town, located in the southern Ural Mountain range, temperatures can drop to -30 Celsius and put a frown on almost everyone. But inside an inflatable tent at the end of Lenin street, you’ll find huge smiles on faces of all ages.
A pair of dolphins jumps high and amazes this crowd in Chelyabinsk, Russia.
The show lasts about 45 minutes and includes a surprise guest appearance from a small sea lion. He mostly shows off his balancing skills and walks hand-in-hand with the trainer. But the dolphins have a wide range of tricks up their fins.
In the front row of the tiny stadium, people hold a long plastic blanket in their laps. Shortly after the start of the show, their reaction times are tested as the dolphins jump and land with a huge splash near the edge of the tank. It sends a big wave into the audience and if your reflex to raise the plastic is short, you’ll be doused with some mild salt water.
The dolphins then swing into a dance routine. They sway around the indoor pool and do their best imitation of a couple’s slow dance. Pretty good job! They have a range of routines that they go through, almost all show off their accuracy, balance and power to leap high into the air. But a few different talents include singing and speaking. Well, it’s not exactly music to the ears, more like screeches and high-pitched glass shattering squawks, but their voice is very powerful and a real treat to hear.
This was the dancing part of the dolphins' routine.
After some more acts with tossing rubber balls into the audience, they relax a bit and paint on a sketchpad held by the trainer. He places a brush that’s already swabbed in paint and the dolphins take turns creating a colorful work of abstract art. The announcer of the show then starts and auction for the piece. This is one part of the show that I could have done without. It just seemed to drag on and I would have rather not paid for that time. More tricks, more flips please!
At the end of the show, for a small fee, people are allowed to pose with the dolphins for a snapshot. The onsite professional photographer offers print enlargements and/or CD’s. But he will also take a shot with your camera…well, he did for me at least.
Two dolphins put their trainer on a pedestal.
Samara and Penza, Russia.
January 11th, 2010A quick trip to Samara and Penza, for a few days.
A rocket sits mounted on display in Samara, Russia.
A broom leans against a tree in Penza, frozen in snow and ice.
Samara is a great city for industry and for tourists to view the mighty Volga river. But Penza is a trippy, cool little city built around art and theater. Both happened to be on my list of places to visit, so please enjoy the rest of the photos by clicking on an image above, or follow this link to the Photo Gallery
Pictures from Russian Village outside of Penza.
January 9th, 2010Walking through a small village outside of Penza, Russia in the middle of winter. Just a few days after New Year and most people still at home for vacation. Lots of snow and plenty of work to clean it up.
Helping an old woman with the snow detail, a young father offers to shovel for awhile.
An old truck driving along in the small village.
shovelling snow, a dog watches man work.
A very colorful house stands out from the whiteness of winter.
An older home in Russian village.
Winter view of forest outside of village.
click any of the above photos to see the whole album, or CLICK HERE
