The Athlete Edits: Sammy Carlson

02:07 min • 19/11/2020

Even though he's made a name for himself in the park, Sammy Carlson really comes alive when he's soaring over pillows and slashing through powder. Watch the skier doing what he does best in an unforgettable winter in Revelstoke, BC.

Athletes

Sammy Carlson

Locations

Revelstoke BC

Sammy Carlson

Profile and significance

Sammy Carlson is a U.S.-born, Revelstoke-based freeski icon whose career bridges park innovation and backcountry mastery. Raised near Mount Hood and forged by endless laps at Timberline, he first stormed the contest scene with technical slopestyle runs and history-making tricks—most famously the first switch triple rodeo (2010)—before pivoting to film and deep-snow freestyle. The hardware is undeniable: X Games Slopestyle gold in 2011, three straight X Games Real Ski Backcountry golds from 2013 to 2015 (with a Fan Favorite sweep in 2015), and a FIS World Championships slopestyle silver at Deer Valley in 2011. Over the same arc he became the face of rider-led backcountry projects, headlining “The Sammy C Project” with Teton Gravity Research and later releasing “Over Time,” “GROWN,” and “ECHO,” statement pieces that codified a surf-informed, pillow-stacking style.

Today his name signals two things at once: innovations that changed what’s possible—switch takeoffs in real mountains, buttered doubles on natural rolls—and a movement language that any progressing skier can study. You can see the blueprint clearly in his clips: calm entries, patient pop, early grab definition, landings that read centered and inevitable. That clarity, plus a rare stack of medals across Slopestyle, Big Air, and Real Ski, makes Carlson one of the most influential freeskiers of his era.

Competitive arc and key venues

Carlson’s competitive résumé traces freeskiing’s evolution. He broke through in the late 2000s with X Games Slopestyle silvers (2007, 2009), added bronzes (2010 slopestyle, 2011 big air), and sealed the park chapter with Slopestyle gold at Aspen. Then he proved that film-grade creativity could be judged: Real Ski Backcountry golds in 2013, 2014, and 2015, where his precision on natural features outpointed the field and his 2015 Fan Favorite vote showed how strongly the audience responded. In parallel he collected World Championships silver in slopestyle at Deer Valley, confirming that his method traveled from edits to the start gate.

The places tied to his name explain the skiing as well as any podium. Timberline on Mount Hood delivered repetition and switch comfort, the raw materials for a first-in-history switch triple rodeo and years of technical slopestyle. Aspen Snowmass provided the broadcast-stage pressure where he took Slopestyle gold and later showcased creative takes on features under floodlights. Basing in British Columbia anchored the second act: the storm cycles and terrain above Revelstoke Mountain Resort turned into a classroom for pillow lines, wind, and speed management that define his Real Ski and film segments. Spring trips to Mammoth Mountain added XL build cadence and wind reads that sharpen big-feature timing when he wanted to return to jumps at scale.

How they ski: what to watch for

Carlson skis with economy and definition. Into a lip—sculpted or natural—he stays tall and neutral, sets rotation late, and locks the grab before 180 degrees so the trick breathes and the axis reads cleanly. On natural takeoffs he starts butters from the ankles and hips instead of an upper-body lean, which is why his nose-butter doubles feel suspended rather than forced. In pillows and cutbanks he favors lines that preserve speed, entering features square and exiting with shoulders aligned so momentum survives for the next move. Landings show soft ankles and hips stacked over feet; even on consequential terrain, recoveries look unnecessary because edge pressure is organized early.

On rails—less frequent in recent years but still visible—the same grammar holds: square entries, long-enough presses and backslides to be unmistakable, and quiet surface swaps that keep the base flat through kinks. Whether the backdrop is a contest jump, a Real Ski kicker in the trees, or a spine, the takeaways are consistent and teachable.

Resilience, filming, and influence

Film seasons are the backbone of Carlson’s legacy. “The Sammy C Project” reframed him from contest winner to backcountry author, pairing booters and technical lines with the same patient setups that worked in slopestyle. “Over Time” (with CK9 Studios) extended the language—pillow stacks, fall-line airs, switch takeoffs in places that once looked too chaotic—while “GROWN” and “ECHO” kept the focus on honest speed and compositions that show approach, slope angle, and body organization. That visual honesty is why riders and coaches still pause his footage for breakdowns; the shots teach as much as they impress.

His influence also runs through product and events. With Armada he shaped the Whitewalker series (116/121), pow-focused twins that reward buttered takeoffs and centered landings without folding at speed. Apparel with Quiksilver and long-standing support from Oakley and Monster Energy helped fuel a career built as much on films as on podiums. The through-line is intent: rather than chase every start list, he picked formats that rewarded touch and storytelling, then used films to raise the ceiling on what “slopestyle in the backcountry” could look like.

Geography that built the toolkit

Place explains the method. Mount Hood’s Timberline allowed nearly year-round repetition, perfect for codifying switch approaches, late sets, and clean grabs. Aspen’s stage at Aspen Snowmass added long decks, TV timing, and wind management under lights. The interior of British Columbia—anchored around Revelstoke—layered storm snow, pillows, and complex terrain where speed choice matters more than spin count. When spring jump blocks called for XL timing, Mammoth provided consistent shapes and the headwinds/tailwinds that decide whether a trick reads cleanly. Trace that map and you can see fingerprints in every clip: local-hill repetition, broadcast composure, and deep-snow decision-making that holds up at half speed.

Equipment and partners: practical takeaways

Carlson’s current toolkit reflects his skiing. The Armada Whitewalker series gives a balanced, press-friendly platform that still tracks when you need to carry speed into a second feature; the 121 shines on storm days, the 116 covers most of the season. Outerwear and support from Quiksilver, optics from Oakley, and energy backing from Monster Energy round out a program built for film blocks and selective starts.

For progressing skiers, the hardware lessons mirror the footage. Choose a true twin with medium flex that you can press without folding, a mount close enough to center for neutral switch landings, and a tune that detunes contact points just enough to reduce hookiness while keeping reliable bite on the lip. Keep binding ramp angles neutral so you aren’t tipped into the backseat. More important than any single product is the process his parts model: film laps, compare shoulder alignment and hip-to-ankle stack against a short checklist, and repeat until calm entries, patient pop, early grab definition, and square-shoulder exits become automatic.

Why fans and progressing skiers care

Fans care about Sammy Carlson because his skiing ages well. The clips prize timing, organization, and line design over noise, whether the camera is on a pillow stack in Revelstoke, a sunset jump at Mount Hood, or an Aspen feature built for prime time. Progressing skiers care because the same choices are teachable on normal resorts and real snowpacks: organize early, let the trick breathe, and land on edges you already prepared. Add the résumé—X Games Slopestyle gold, three Real Ski Backcountry golds with a Fan Favorite sweep, and a World Championships silver—and you get both proof and a path. In an era that demands creativity and craft, Carlson remains a reliable reference for how to make freeskiing look inevitable.

Revelstoke BC

Overview and significance

Revelstoke, British Columbia is a big-mountain resort town built around Revelstoke Mountain Resort (RMR), home to North America’s longest lift-served vertical at 1,713 m / 5,620 ft. The mountain’s official stats outline 3,121 acres, 75 named runs and areas, four alpine bowls, and a 15.2 km top-to-bottom leg-burner called The Last Spike. That combination—huge continuous fall line, high-treeline bowls, and extensive glades—creates a canvas that freeski crews can treat as a day-after-day project rather than a single tick. For quick context inside our ecosystem, see skipowd.tv/location/revelstoke-bc/ and the broader provincial primer at skipowd.tv/location/british-columbia/.

RMR’s terrain progression is clean. Upload via the Revelation Gondola, lap sustained steeps off the high-speed Stoke chair, drop into North-facing bowls when gates open, then reset on the Ripper for tree laps. When you need repetitions on features, there is a dedicated park program under the Stoke. Add town energy that still revolves around winter, plus nearby national-park backcountry for off-days, and Revelstoke becomes a complete destination for storm-chasers and filmers who value both scale and structure.

Terrain, snow, and seasons

The mountain divides naturally by aspect and elevation. The Stoke chair rises to 2,225 m, funneling skiers into Greely, Separate Reality, North and South Bowls—named venues that ride differently with wind and visibility. Official numbers confirm the layout: 3,121 acres, 75 runs across 12% green, 43% intermediate, and 45% advanced, with the Sub Peak at 2,340 m for extra vert when open. Long, consistent pitches let you set speed confidently; the glades are spaced for rhythm rather than survival turns; and gullies often collect buffed chalk after a front moves through. Between cycles, groomed lanes stay credible for edge work all the way to the village at 512 m.

Snowfall averages are presented as approximately 10.5 m per season at the resort level, with a Selkirk Mountains storm track that favors repeated refreshes midwinter. January and February usually deliver the coldest, most reliable surfaces for jump speed and natural airs. March adds blue windows and soft-snow laps in the trees, while upper, shaded aspects keep winter texture. On wind-affected days, leeward bowls and rib lines often ski better than ridgeline openings; when ceilings sit low, the Ripper side’s treed shots become the default for productive laps.

Park infrastructure and events

Revelstoke’s reputation is freeride-forward, but the park program is real and well-situated. The resort’s terrain parks hub lists a Main Terrain Park under the Stoke chair with medium-to-large jumps plus rails and boxes, and a neighboring Gnome Zone focused on small-to-medium features for progression. That adjacency matters for crews working on trick ladders—you can warm up, calibrate speed, and then step to larger profiles without crossing the mountain. Shaping tempo tracks winter weather closely, with rebuilds scaling up as the base deepens.

Competition credibility comes from the freeride side. Revelstoke hosts IFSA-sanctioned Qualifier events, including four-star stops staged in North Bowl when conditions and operations allow. Public skiers benefit the week before and after, as course inspections and snow safety prep often translate into predictable speed lines and cleaned-up runouts. Keep an eye on the resort’s events listings if standing zones and temporary closures affect your day.

Access, logistics, and on-mountain flow

Most visitors fly into Kelowna (YLW) and make the roughly 2.5-hour drive to town. If you prefer not to drive, the resort’s “Getting to Revelstoke” pages detail frequent airport shuttles and private transfer options. In town, a resort shuttle runs daily between downtown and the base, which keeps powder mornings and après logistics simple and reduces parking stress on busy days. Check the current shuttle schedule on the resort site before you set alarms.

Daily flow rewards a plan. On storm mornings with flat light, start with treed laps off Ripper and the lower flanks off Stoke. As ceilings rise and patrol completes control work, step through the Sub Peak gate and North Bowl entrances when posted open; respect signage and terrain warnings in those zones, as cliff bands and tight trees can trap the overconfident. On high-pressure days, you can work a top-to-bottom rhythm: Stoke laps into bowls, traverse to the Ripper for a tree reset, then ride the gondola for a full-length groomer or a features session in the park. For first-timers, the resort’s trail map and mountain stats pages are worth bookmarking on your phone to visualize aspects and links before you drop.

Local culture, safety, and etiquette

Inside the ropes, RMR’s safety and risk-awareness program is explicit: expect staged openings after storms, honor rope lines, and read the warnings on the winter trail map, especially around North Bowl’s cliff zones. Once you step to sidecountry or the broader region, you are in true avalanche terrain. Use the Avalanche Canada forecast for the North Columbia region as your daily baseline and calibrate decisions to wind-loading and persistent-slab problems common in interior snowpacks. If you tour in Glacier National Park at Rogers Pass, you must follow Parks Canada’s Winter Permit System, designed to keep backcountry users out of artillery control zones while enabling access when safe.

Culture-wise, Revelstoke blends a working railway town with a modern mountain community. You will share lifts with heli guests and park kids, IFSA hopefuls and film crews. The etiquette is simple: call your drop in the park, clear landings immediately, keep speed checks conservative near merges, and give patrol and shapers room to work. If you are exploring beyond the resort, certified guiding is readily available; Selkirk Tangiers Heli Skiing operates from the Revelstoke base area, and regional guide services can tailor objectives to conditions.

Best time to go and how to plan

Mid-January through late February stacks the odds for repeated refills, durable lips, and preserved chalk on leeward aspects. March brings longer light and more frequent blue spells, with excellent soft-snow laps in the trees and photogenic panels up high. Build flexibility into your first and last days if your route crosses Rogers Pass; storm closures and avalanche control can add travel time. Each morning, start with the resort’s snow report and operations page, then match zones to the day’s wind, visibility, and temperature. If you are mixing resort and backcountry in one trip, schedule touring days after high-pressure resets so you are not pulling skins in the teeth of a storm.

Logistics are straightforward once you arrive. Stay slopeside to maximize vertical, or base in town and use the shuttle to keep the car parked. Ikon Pass holders will find partner access at Revelstoke; verify entitlements on the destination page and watch blackout notes when planning peak weeks. For a two-to-three-day mission, give yourself at least one “learn the maze” day to map traverses and exits, one storm day for trees and bowls, and one clear day for full-length top-to-bottoms and a features session under Stoke.

Why freeskiers care

Because Revelstoke turns scale into progression. The vertical is continuous, so speed management and edge work become second nature. The bowls let you read wind and aspect like a textbook. The park program provides structured repetitions without leaving the high alpine for long. And the surrounding Selkirks offer legitimate backcountry when you want to change gears. Add pragmatic access via Kelowna, a town that still feels like a real community, and a safety framework that makes smart decisions easier, and you have a destination that rewards focused skiers—storm-chasers, filmers, and park riders alike—who want a high-output week with minimal fluff.

Brand overview and significance

Teton Gravity Research (TGR) is one of skiing’s defining media houses: founded in the Tetons in the mid-1990s, headquartered near Jackson Hole, and built by riders who wanted films to reflect real mountain decision-making. Over three decades, TGR has helped set the visual language of big-mountain and freeride skiing—long, honest line shots, athlete-driven objectives, and film tours that mark the start of winter for communities worldwide. The company’s catalog spans seminal Alaska segments and Jackson Hole storm days to modern, athlete-led stories that balance consequence with creativity. For skipowd.tv readers, TGR matters because it consistently turns winter into narrative: venues, riders, and weather windows woven into films that become seasonal landmarks.

The brand’s annual feature is a cultural metronome. Recent releases include the 30th-anniversary film “Pressure Drop,” a return-to-roots celebration of steep lines and clean execution shot across North America and Europe, and “Beyond the Fantasy,” which explored how athletes translate imagined lines into reality. Beyond feature films, TGR’s shorts, athlete profiles, and tour events keep the stoke rolling between premieres, while long-form storytelling ensures the heavy clips still make sense ten seasons later.

Product lines and key technologies

TGR does not build skis; its “products” are films, tours, and a platform that develops riders and destinations. The flagship is the annual ski/snowboard movie and the accompanying Film Tour, which drops into mountain towns each fall. Parallel series—athlete spotlights, destination pieces, and web shorts—extend the life of a winter, bringing viewers back to the same faces and venues as conditions evolve.

Technically, TGR helped popularize ultra-stable, high-definition aerial cinematography in ski films. Helicopter-mounted, gyro-stabilized camera systems paired with cinema-grade bodies allowed the crew to hold a skier in frame at speed on big faces without losing the texture of snow or slope angle. On the ground, a mix of long-lens, cable, and follow-cam work keeps perspective honest: you see approach speed, takeoff timing, sluff management, and landing control instead of abstract close-ups. The result is footage that both entertains and teaches—useful for riders who study line choice as much as they enjoy the spectacle.

Ride feel: who it’s for (terrains & use-cases)

TGR’s work speaks first to all-mountain and freeride skiers who chase real terrain—steep bowls, spines, couloirs, storm-cleaned trees—and want to see how elite athletes manage risk and speed when conditions are authentic, not staged. Park and backcountry-freestyle skiers also find a consistent thread: natural takeoffs, side hits, wind lips, and transitions treated as canvases for style. If you alternate between in-bounds challenge laps and out-of-bounds tours, TGR’s films mirror your calendar—resort storm days, bluebird windows, and spring missions strung together by avalanche awareness and crew trust.

For learners, the films function like masterclasses. You can pause to analyze fall-line choices, sight-lines into roll-overs, or how riders “read” sluff and manage exposure. For trip planners, destination segments preview pace and pitch at places like Jackson Hole and Verbier, helping crews match ambitions to terrain reality before they book tickets.

Team presence, competitions, and reputation

TGR’s athlete network has included many of the names that shaped modern freeskiing—chargers known for committing to the fall line and bringing style to consequential snow. That roster has evolved with the sport, blending seasoned big-mountain specialists with younger riders comfortable moving between film, freeride venues, and creative backcountry features. The company’s reputation rests on two pillars: it consistently captures skiing at its most honest (speed, consequence, variable surfaces), and it shows athletes as decision-makers, not just stunt performers. This approach earned trust with guides, resorts, and viewers, keeping access open to terrain that rewards skill but punishes shortcuts.

Tour nights reinforce the relationship. A TGR premiere is part film screening, part community gathering: local avalanche centers table in the lobby, resort operations teams show up, and skiers plan first snow days under the glow of the closing credits. That annual ritual keeps the brand connected to real mountain towns instead of existing only as a streaming logo.

Geography and hubs (heritage, testing, venues)

Home base is Wyoming’s Tetons, where the Jackson Hole culture of tram laps, technical chutes, and storm cycles has shaped TGR’s pacing and priorities. The resort’s character—steep entries, long fall lines, and crowd-aware decision-making—translates directly to the films’ tempo and line selection. For skiers scoping a stateside itinerary, the official resort portal for Jackson Hole is jacksonhole.com, while skipowd.tv’s location guide to Jackson Hole gives a rider’s eye to the terrain.

Across the Atlantic, the Alps are a second home. Filming and athlete projects regularly pass through Les Arcs and Verbier, where lift-served big-mountain terrain allows multiple attempts inside tight weather windows—ideal for capturing clean lines without heli overuse. Closer to the Tetons, Grand Targhee often appears in storm-day segments for its forgiving landings and consistent snowfall. These hubs are not random pins on a map; they’re places where speed, access, and avalanche frameworks make ambitious filming repeatable.

Construction, durability, and sustainability

In a media context, “construction” means how a project is built: pre-production with guides and resorts, weather modeling, camera plans that won’t distort slope angle, and shot lists flexible enough to follow real snow. Durability shows up as films that age well; a decade on, viewers still reference certain TGR segments when discussing line selection or snowpack behavior. Sustainability is practical and cultural. Practically, crews lean on lift-served access when possible, compress travel around storm cycles and tour stops, and work with local experts to minimize footprint in sensitive zones. Culturally, TGR has amplified environmental conversations via athlete-led projects and partnerships that nudge the community toward responsible travel and decision-making. The throughline is respect for mountains and the people who operate in them.

From a gear-care standpoint, the company’s footage quietly advocates for maintenance and preparedness: tuned edges and predictable bases for firm entries, binding checks before bootpacks, radios and rescue kits where exposure demands them. That attention to detail is why the skiing looks smooth on camera—it’s built on a foundation of redundancy and process.

How to choose within the lineup

Viewers: Start with the latest annual feature to catch the state of the art, then dive backward to compare eras. Watch a modern Alaska spine sequence and follow it with a classic to see how angle capture, runout management, and pacing evolved. Use athlete profiles to study how different skiers solve similar terrain.

Trip planners: Use destination segments to set expectations. If “Pressure Drop” shows a storm-cleaned day at Jackson Hole, notice how riders manage speed into consequential terrain and how patrol openings shape the day’s rhythm. If a Verbier sequence sparks your interest, pair the film with the Verbier location guide and build a plan that respects itinerary closures and changing light.

Athletes and creators: TGR rewards authored ideas that can be repeated safely under real conditions. When pitching, think like a guide and a shaper: is the line skiable at speed, can you reset for multiple attempts, and does it film cleanly without misrepresenting slope angle? Consider venues with lift-served access and consistent snow so your story survives typical winter variability.

Why riders care

Skiers care about TGR because the films feel true to the way we actually ride: weather-dependent, partner-driven, and shaped by terrain that asks for respect. The camera shows speed, consequence, and style without faking the experience; the editing leaves room for context so a clip makes sense in the bigger story of a winter. For aspiring chargers, the movies double as study guides. For seasoned riders, they’re reminders of why careful preparation and strong crews unlock the best days. And for mountain towns, a TGR tour stop is a seasonal gathering—an evening where the community lines up plans for the first deep week and the last spring mission. In a sport that depends on timing, teamwork, and trust, TGR keeps delivering the template for how to capture skiing at its most alive.

The Athlete Edits: Sammy Carlson

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Sammy Carlson

Revelstoke BC

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