Well living in Alaska has its perks and downfalls as a standup Jetski rider. Pros is that I can ride jetskis anywhere I want with no hassle, I’m almost the only rider in my town, so the lake is never busy. But then that’s where it’s limiting. No surf, so I might as well stick to fresh water, never gets warmer than 75. No one to real help progress. But in the winter time my lake freezes and gets snowed on, the mountains fill full of snow and we have some epic snowmobiling a 15 minute drive from my house.
Tanners View
Tanner Getting in some Back Country time
So that is my perfect cross training activity up here. Just like with jetskiing I want to push myself and go do some wicked awesome cool stuff on a snowmobile. But with snowmobiling and where we ride you gotta be careful. No cell service several mountains back from help. You have to have your stuff dialed. But there is nothing like backcountry snowmobiling. This year I have been riding a little less than I would have liked but still enough to make memories and stay in shape. Here are some photos of my adventures and riding.
Tanner Thomas Alaska Style
Tanner Thomas
So far in the mix attending, representing, for Liquid Militia will be//
“Yes I was run absolutely ragged. I competed in Amateur Freeride, Pro Moto Surf, Sit Down Freeride and the Big Air Comp. I went out and hucked a backflip for the Big Air comp. First flip of the year on my new ski. I had some water ingestion issues and didn’t get to ride to my full potential on the semi-final round, but I had an absolute blast and it was the perfect way to kick off my Summer tour! The Grayland Open is a very important event as an amateur freerider. I am so thankful for all the people who make that event happen, it was a great success, I appreciate my sponsors support.”
“I hurt my ankle during a flat landing on the Madonna Flip during the Big Air Event. My foot stayed in the foothold and my right knee bent left and almost touched the Hydro-Turf while my hip remained straight soooo…. pop goes the weasel! I thought it was ok until i tried to put weight on it and then I knew it was bad. It really sucked because I wanted to put on a show for everyone but sometimes things don’t go the way you want them. But hey, at least it is not broken and I snagged the win.”
“I played Mike Young and Mc’ed the entire event to call tricks for the judges but ended up turning into being the full event MC. It was a great event to be at. That really brought us together in the spirit of Freeride. It wasn’t about us; it was about giving our freeride groms the best competition and most positive experience that they could get. Just seeing the level of amplitude and intensity that came out of Christian Young and Jake Bright in this contest, made the entire trip worth it. I am so proud of our little McNugget Christian for literally almost going for broke. There may have been no prize money or incentive to make it out there but just the entire atmosphere that was around that event ,was what will most likely bring riders like Zack Bright and myself back out next year.”
“Grayland was an awesome experience for me. I had a great time! I ended up hurting my ankle in the final heat up against Jake Bright fighting for first place. I did what felt like a Bright back flip and I came down really flat on the landing. When I landed I fell off the back of the tray and I tweaked it ‘just right’. The E.M.T. said that I sprained it really bad but I am now on the way to recovery fast and I am ready for Surf Slam! I ended up taking second and I’m proud of my performance.’
