Karhu Ski Co Blog :: Where Will You Ski Today? » JT Robinson

The Freeheel Life Trailer

graham — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 16:14:02 +0000

Former Karhu athlete Josh Madsen (now editor of Telemark Skier Magazine) just posted up a trailer for the new ski movie that he put together over the last season. Titled “The Freeheel Life,” the movie showcases great turns, awesome pow and some of Madsen’s take on freeheel culture and travels. You’ll see Karhu athlete JT Robinson getting inverted a couple times in the trailer, along with a full cast of talented rippers. Oh, and kudos to the guy who takes a header at 00:46 into the trailer… if you’re going to throw it, might as well throw it hard!

Monday stoke

graham — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 17:03:50 +0000

The airwaves have been too quiet recently. Blame it on the heat wave that roared through the Pacific Northwest, whose 100+ temps made it hard to think about summer activities, much less winter fun. Thankfully it’s passed now, with moderate mixed weather more reminescent of fall. With the first rainfall in a long time coming today and tomorrow, it’s time for some Monday stoke with one of the summer trailers that just dropped.

Sweetgrass Productions – Signatures

Sweetgrass is coming off last year’s Hand Cut film, and looking good with Signatures. Karhu athletes JT Robinson and Lorenzo Worster traveled to Japan to film with Sweetgrass this winter, and the result looks amazing. Don’t miss out when Signatures comes through your mountain town this fall!

Scufoneda 2009 Video

graham — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 17:05:18 +0000

Karhu athlete JT Robinson sent us a video to check out this morning from his trip to Italy for the Scufoneda Polartec Meeting, a telemark festival and ski competition. JT took 2nd place in the comp, but spent a lot of the festival freeriding around with the camera crew from a British sports show that was featuring the event. Watch for his green Team 100s and the checkered jacket ripping around the slopes. Nice big slow-mo turn for the finish of the segment, too!

JT Robinson – Sickbird at CB Comp

graham — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 22:42:00 +0000

Big congratulations today to Karhu Team skier JT Robinson, who took third place at the US Extreme Telemark Freeskiing Championships at Crested Butte, Colorado over the weekend. The podium placement alone is a worthy accomplishment, but JT also received the coveted Sickbird Award for a Lincoln Loop thrown mid-line in the Finals. We asked JT what ran through his head during the run, and here’s what he wrote about the internal dialogue:

“86, you ready?” came the voice from the start gate.

“Yeah, Dead-end Chutes.” With that it was into the super gnarly gauntlet of trees, bumps, rocks and consequences of Crested Butte’s Dead-end Chutes.

It’s a steep bump field above Bodybag and Dead-end to get to the first feature. “Nice and easy, conserve your explosion,” says my inner guide. “Find the first feature in the top section, it’s in line of sight with the caution sign for Dead-end.”

“Tips left, tips left… and stick, stick, out right.” The ten-foot drop fades behind me, moving across to skier’s right of the Dead-end caution sign.

“Smooth, no wasted movement, over to entrance, keep it smooth… And in, now quick tele turns all the way to skier’s left side marker… Got it, and in.” I approach the beginning of the rocky pillow section. Sun-baked corn under my feet cascades through some severe consequences that lie below.

“Around the tree, tips right for next air to pillow… got it. Get left on that spine, side hop over the pepper through the tip-tail pine field goal aaaaand through it!” On to more gnarly pillows.

“This is the turn; this is the crux move, get solid, go. Hold onto it, hold on. Okay, see the next one, stay close to the edge on this one… Got it, go.” The yelling from below intensifies as I jump turn to a six-foot pillow drop above 80 feet of cliffs and rocks. I need to stay small and get back to the right as I come into the last double-stager in the line.

“Too big, too left… ROCKS… hang on! Got it, holy crap, I still got it!” I realize that I am too deep to get over for the last stage of the double I wanted to do. In a snap judgment I go into my “Option B” line towards Hamburger Rock.

“Okay, Hamburger from the nose… Lincoln loop… throw it hard… see it… see it…”
The crowd erupts, bringing me through the finish line, fists punching the sky and screaming at the top of my lungs in triumphant relief.

ADULT MEN (full results here) Run 1 Run 2 Run 3 Total
1 Ben Morello Crested Butte CO 34.60 38.4 38.2 111.20
2 Seaton MacMillan Crested Butte CO 34.80 32.8 35.2 102.80
3 J.T. Robinson Fruit Heights UT 32.60 33.6 35.8 102.00
4 Jake Sakson Carbondale CO 34.20 34.8 31 100.00
5 Phil Spinner Denver CO 32.80 32 34.8 99.60

Way to go JT!

(A quick clip of JT from Tough Guy Productions’ Open Windows. If we get any video from the comp run, we’ll post it up.)

Happy Place Video

graham — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 18:43:00 +0000

Just back from our Pacific Northwest Dealer Camp at White Pass, WA, and feeling the soreness this morning from running bell-to-bell laps in the powder. 9″ followed by 9″ followed by 10″ and completely empty midweek – the only people tracking up our lines were in our group. Once the photos are downloaded, I’ll toss a few up, probably on Monday. In the meantime, while we’re packing crates and trucks today for the upcoming tradeshows, here’s a little video called “Happy Place” from Karhu skier JT Robinson and his Vertical Integration crew:

(Video courtesy of JT Robinson)

Mon, er… Tuesday Stoke

graham — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 21:46:00 +0000

Nothing serves up inspiration in the start of the work week like powder runs and adrenaline-pumping chutes. It started with a few friends sending links and photos around, usually on Monday mornings through the fall and start of the winter, and it’s since become known as the “Monday Stoke.” It’s not about wishing you were some place else, but instead jumpstarting the week.

Tweaking some Karhu videos on YouTube this morning, I stumbled onto an 0607 teaser from Karhu skier JT Robinson and his ripping friends in Utah. Things are running full steam this week with catalog production, so this stoke comes on Tuesday. But I think it’ll do the trick…