K2 Charlie is back from the dead!!!
After the long drive from Charlie's near death bed and a few quick stops in Maryland and Delaware, Charlie was off to Pennsylvania for some serious pre-season sales. Buckman's Ski and Snowboard was the first venue and for their customers, these sales are the equivalent to a pow day for skiers in regions blessed with such a thing. We visited three of their locations all with massive tents and deals to good to pass up. Better yet, Charlie was there with his painted on grin greeting people and reminding them the snow is on its way.
A little off roading to reserved parking for K2 Charlie to do his job catching potential customers attention.
Costumers raking the tents for that gem of deal to good to miss.
All good things must come to an end. After four days of rainy, miserable weather things started looking a little better in time for the massive clean up. While Charlie was warming up on the side lines getting ready to hit the road, I assisted to take down.
With a little persuasion we managed to get the entire Buckmans staff together for a group photo with Charlie, probably our best of the trip...
Now its off to my home state of New York for a few days to investigate the rumors of snow fall and annual pre-season parties. Thanks again to Buckmans for a great couple days and good food!
K2 Charlie gets back on the road.
For those of you who have been following Charlie you may be wondering where the heck he's been for the past few weeks. With about 4 thousand miles clocked on the tour he seemed to be running pretty good, but as anticipated it would only be a matter of time not if, but when something would break. To make a long story short he blew up in North Platte, Nebraska got a much needed break and a new motor. That's right, a new motor!
Once we realized something was wrong we stopped for the night to get Charlie checked out in the morning. Some local bikers, of the "Flatlanders MC", that I met at the bar sent us to Art's Service Center, turns out they were the only ones in town capable of such a repair.
This may look like just a spark plug but infact it's was the tell tale sign of the serious engine problems Charlie had.
This is the old motor stripped of all it useful parts, I guess Charlie's an organ doner but we don't hold it against him. Note the smashed piston second from left, that's what happens when a valve lets go and is loose while the engines running.
This is Dennis, the man who fixed up Charlie against his own recommendation of junking him. The grin on his face is the result of Charlie being fixed and never having to look at him again. Its not that he didn't like him but the nightmare of a job it was to find and install the new motor.
The good news is Charlie's all fixed up and back on the road, the bad is the three weeks of tour action we missed thus forcing us to make a 1300 mile dash from Nebraska to Maryland to resume our busy schedule. With only a few weeks left were looking to make up for lost time and finish this tour with a bang. Thanks again to Arts Service Center for putting up with us.
K2 Charlie hits Tahoe
Sean Decker and K2 Charlie spent a few days in lovely Lake Tahoe, CA. During their stay they were able to catch up with Michelle Parker and Kip Garre and get a little video footage to boot...
freestyle.ch 09
freestyle.ch 09
Like every year, the International Freestyle Rider scene and the Swiss freestyle fans got together to celebrate in Zurich with marvelous weather on the Landiwiese.
Like every year, the final was a fireworks of new tricks, and also old gun, like Jon Ollson got stuck in the semi-final. Double Cork / Flips were standard for almost all the riders and were often stomped to perfection. In the end, Sammy Carlson stood on the top of the podium, with young swiss Elias Amuehl in 2nd and Andrea Hatveit getting 3rd. From K2 Skis side, unfortunately no rider was in the starting field, as PK wasn’t ready to compete yet and Aleksander Aurdal (as last years freestyle.ch Rookie) didn’t get invited again.
In the big Label World all could admire prospects this year's stuff, collect stickers and posters, look at stars and our dear and loved Charlie. At Charlie K2 Guitars were given out to many young rockers which showed their potential for the future.
On Sunday evening most went home tired but already looking forward to next year!
K2 SKIS Releases "The Fanny Pack2" Trailer
Critics agree, "The Fanny Pack2" mini-movie is a launch forward for aspiring ski-athlete actors everywhere. Michelle gives a once in a lifetime performance as 'That Girl," a young ambitious newcomer that finds herself in the company of strangers with the common goal of ripping powder up on the mountain. Reggie Crist and Seth Morrison compliment the seasoned cast of characters as they strive to find common ground en route to a thrilling adventure. Pep Fujas and Sean Pettit show that even though most of their tricks exist up on the mountain, they have got a few surprises for the silver screen as they unleash a masterful handling of their individual roles. After the film, remember to check out the K2 Charlie world tour as he passes through your neck of the woods.
K2 Charlie heads to SLC.
K2 Charlie headed from Mammoth, CA to Salt Lake City, UT for his next round of appearances. The 550 mile drive proved no contest for Charlie with his new fuel pump and tune up. The drive is a series of 150 mile stretches with nothing but open ranges and lonely highways until you reach Salt Lake and the famous mountains of Utah.
The Sports Den on Foot Hill Drive was our first order of business. Their crew pictured here was a little caught off guard when we pulled up.
Second was clearly the "blow out sale" at Ski N See. Charlie managed to hop the curb and make his presence known to shoppers on a leisurely Saturday afternoon.
Utah is the motor sports capital. After riding around SLC in Charlie all day it was nice to hit the trails on dirt bikes and let er rip.
Our Last stop in SLC was the online mega store backcountry.com. Their "gear heads" quickly checked out Charlie before returning to work offering superior customer service.
Next Stop is Bozeman, MT. On our way there we made a quick stop in Pocatello, ID at Barrie's Ski and Sport. The guy in the middle isn't flexing but showing us his K2 tattoo!
The K2 Charlie tour is about to pick up the pace with daily stops planned for the next couple of weeks. Keep checking back and following our wild adventure.
K2 Charlie Hits Mammoth California
Mammoth is most known for its huge jumps and dumps of snow. Having lived in Mammoth Lakes, Ca for the past 5 seasons it was time to show Charlie around and introduce him to some friends of mine. I've never spent a summer in Mammoth but was eager to experience it all in a few short days. I was feeling a little lost in a place I consider my second home, luckily my friends were around to show us the way.
Charlie kicking it with Wooley, Mammoth's mascot. Actually, this is just a mammoth statue, Wooley actually skis around greeting guests, similar to Charlie's role with K2.
The co-ed softball finals were going down while we were in town. It was a total party and most of town is involved. I parked Charlie in dead center and offered a free pair of skis to anyone who could break a window.
After the game we headed to the softball finals party. My friends JK, Emily, Sheri and Bernie enjoyed a lift to the party in Charlie and some "tail gating" before the we headed to the bar.
The following morning I went to retrieve Charlie and after 100 feet of driving he decided to take a half hour nap in the middle of the Mammoth Village. I was able to wake him up and get him home. Turns out his fuel pump failed, $35 and a few hours later he we were back at it.
Mammoth runs their gondola for biking in the summer. Long time friend of K2 Ray McMillian, who could be Charlie's cousin, runs the Mammoth shop and and set me up with a down hill rig for a couple days.
Before it as time to go we took Charlie up to Lake George, one of the many lakes surrounding Mammoth. It's a short hike so Charlie couldn't make it but we jumped some cliffs and soaked up some sun and scenery while he took another nap.
Reluctant to leave, it was time to head to Utah. Thank again to Ray for the bike and everyone showed Charlie and I what Summer is all about in Mammoth.
K2 Charlie cloned? Sightings announced in Europe...
Yes and no. It might just be his twin brother, we are not really sure. There´s definitely some sort of resemblance, if not an unknown relationship with the one on the other side of the pond. Either way the European version is a close clone from the outside, but hell of a pimp from the inside!
Before it´s transformation it was already a pimp RV. A Nissman Bischof Clou 570E modell built on a Merzedes Benz 410D truck chasis, born in 1990, including some technical gadgets like a huge air conditioning, a satelite tranceiver, TV, real bathroom with sink, shower and toilett and a kitchenet with 4 flame gase stove, fridge and double sink. Some of these features had to go as we were limited to certain weight limits for the EU (so we also got rid of over 250l fresh and waste water tanks), and others had to go because we had some special ideas for the inside rebuild (so instead of a bthroom and a bunk bed we now have some stylish 8 people meeting room once Charlie turns into our rolling trade and order show vehicle).
But we couldn´t this on our own. The outside paint job, well, some cases of beer, some night shifts and we would have managed it as well. But for the inside we needed some serious help. And help we got! There´s a car work shop outside of Munich who is spezialised in oldtimers as well as special make up´s for movie productions. The right choice for us! Named R&R after the 2 founders Robert and Robert these guys know how to turn a car inside out and rebuild it so you feel like being at pimp my ride.
Here´s some pics from the remodelling.
Work in progress.
Some interesting light job.
Paint Job.
Nice K2 Curtains.
Interesting table. Did Charlie jump on or drive over a skier?
Evil?
The inside after the job.
And finally done!
You want to meet K2 Charlie in the EU? Here are the first dates where you can hook up:
16th - 20th of September - Real Berlin Marathon / Germany (our friends at the Skate departement are borrowing Charlie)
24th - 28th of September - Freestyle.CH in Zürich / Switzerland
9th - 11th of September - Freestyle.Berlin / Germany
17th - 18th of October - Kaunertal Opening / Austria
25th of October - Intersport Becke in Fürstenfeldbruck / Germany
28th of October - 2nd of November - Skipass Show in Modena / Italy
5th - 8th of November - Sport Scheck Opening Stubai / Austria
19th - 21st of November - Pray4Snow in Thun / Switzerland
28th of November - Backside Event at Alpin Basis in Frankfurt / Germany
11th of December - Final of the Rocker tour in the Snowworld Zoetermeer / Netherlands
19th of December - Sport Schwab in Winterbach / Germany
Stay tuned for more dates to come!
K2 Charlie hits Tahoe
After a week in wonderful Mount Hood, Oregon, K2 Charlie and I made the grueling 10 hour drive, in 90 degree heat, down to Lake Tahoe, California to check out the summer scene. Tahoe is in full on summer mode right now but Charlie's presence reminded everyone winter is on its way. With California in an El Niño cycle, expectations for this winter are high and the buzz is in the air. We met up with a few members of the K2 family who welcomed Charlie and I with open arms and showed us what summer is all about around the lake.
Our first destination in Tahoe was K2's Nor-Cal rep Mike Rosen's house. He was surprised Charlie and I made it this far and wished us good luck on the long road ahead. Mike also gave us an inside look into a reps life heading into his busiest time of year.
Tahoe and K2's own Michelle Parker was equally as surprised to see Charlie and I in Tahoe. Michelle is currently recovering from a knee injury and is doing great. She is super focused on physical therapy and coming back stronger than ever.
Michelle and I rented a kayak and took a shoreline cruise of Tahoe City. The water is a spectacular blue, something Charlie and I had heard about but never seen firsthand. Unfortunately, Charlie couldn't join us in the boat as he understands the whole Keep Tahoe Blue movement and wouldn't want to harm the water.
Here with Charlie and I is Chase, an old friend of mine, who I haven't seen or talked to in years. Chase rented us the kayak and when we realized we knew each other from skiing, he automatically knew I was in town with Charlie and because of that, I was given a discounted rental. A small world becomes even smaller and better when your driving such a stand out vehicle.
Porters Tahoe was having a tent sale so Charlie and I parked out front to attract some curious customers.
K2 athletes Michelle Parker and Kip Garre. We hung out at Porters, showed off K2 Charlie to Tahoe and made plans to shred California this winter.
Thanks to Mike Rosen, Michelle and Kip for making Charlie and I feel at home in Tahoe.
Sean Decker takes us inside K2 Charlie
Decker will be spending the next 3 months living and traveling with K2 Charlie. Sean wanted to give the world an in-depth look at who K2 Charlie is and what he is all about. If you see Charlie and Sean on the road make sure you show them some love and look out for the tour schedule posting on K2skis.com next week.
