Mountain Life
  • Daily Content
    • Trips & Expeditions
    • Climbing
    • Mountain Biking
    • Mountain Lifer
    • Multiplicity
    • On The Trail
    • Paddling
    • Photography
    • Skiing
    • Snowboarding
    • Stay & Play
    • Surfing
    • The Great Outdoors
    • The ML Interview
    • Travel
  • GEAR
  • VIDEOS
  • STORE
  • Magazines
    • ML Coast Mountains
    • ML Rocky Mountains
    • Vie En Montagne
    • ML Blue Mountains
    • ML Annual
    • ML Subscriptions
  • ABOUT
    • What is ML?
    • Our Team
    • Newsletter
    • Adventure Grant
    • Distribution
  • Podcast
  • Contests
  • CONTACT
    • ML Agency
    • Advertising
    • Contribute
Subscription Form

Get notified of the best News

Social Links
Instagram 22K Followers
Facebook 25K Likes
Twitter 5K Followers
Pinterest 1K Followers
Vimeo 34 Followers
LinkedIn 0
22K Followers
25K Likes
5K Followers
1K Followers
Mountain Life
Mountain Life
  • Daily Content
    • Trips & Expeditions
    • Climbing
    • Mountain Biking
    • Mountain Lifer
    • Multiplicity
    • On The Trail
    • Paddling
    • Photography
    • Skiing
    • Snowboarding
    • Stay & Play
    • Surfing
    • The Great Outdoors
    • The ML Interview
    • Travel
  • GEAR
  • VIDEOS
  • STORE
  • Magazines
    • ML Coast Mountains
    • ML Rocky Mountains
    • Vie En Montagne
    • ML Blue Mountains
    • ML Annual
    • ML Subscriptions
  • ABOUT
    • What is ML?
    • Our Team
    • Newsletter
    • Adventure Grant
    • Distribution
  • Podcast
  • Contests
  • CONTACT
    • ML Agency
    • Advertising
    • Contribute
  • The Great Outdoors
  • Skiing

Behind The Photo: Austin Ross “There Are No Tracks in the Sky.”

  • March 6, 2017
  • Ben Osborne
Total
0
Shares
0
0
0
0
0
0
Total
0
Shares
Share 0
Tweet 0
Pin it 0
Share 0
Share 0
Share 0

The world is oversaturated with GoPro/POV shots and it takes creativity to stand out, but a speed-flying rig is a good start. Born-and-raised in Pemberton, Austin Ross grew up exploring the Coast Mountains as often as possible and by any means necessary. His POV edits consistently rank among the best of the year, so we connected to talk airtime, hang time, and getting the shot.

 

ROSS2

 

This is a sweet angle, talk about how you differentiate yourself when it comes to POV shooting?
It’s mostly trial and error, just trying things. When I first got a GoPro, I went to the kitchen store and got an egg timer and did some cool 360-degree time lapses. I have another mount that’s a fibreglass pole with fins on it, almost like a lawn dart that flies behind me on a string. It took some getting used to, to get the angle right and keep it from hitting my cords. This one is another new mount – it’s just a magnet that you put on either side of the wing and it holds the camera in place.

This is speed riding, how is it different from regular paragliding?
Basically it’s just a smaller wing. Paragliding has a big wing that you can use to catch thermals and glide around. Fundamentally, a speed wing is similar but it’s smaller, and as far as the launch and landing, everything happens a lot faster and you are closer to the terrain and making quicker decisions. Flying sports are all about spatial awareness and constant assessments based on your surroundings. It’s a mental workout with math, science, instinct and fun all rolled into one sport.

 

https://vimeo.com/126949454

 

How did you get into this sport?
Gradually. I started with paragliding. Growing up in Pemby, I would see paragliders flying around. The landing zone is at the old community centre and a few of the local pilots are friends with my parents, ski bums from back in the day. One year I had been tree planting and I had some extra cash. I called Jim Orava and he said, “Meet me at the community centre in 15 minutes.” And that was the start. I did some ground training and was in the air that day.

“I feel like with skiing or biking, you are often either too slow or too fast for the people you’re with, so you’re waiting or rushing to catch up. With flying, I’m in my own world making my own decisions until I’m back on the ground.”

What’s the learning curve like?
It takes practice. I did 20 flights in Pemby, then we went to Mexico and did a lot of training at Valle de Bravo, where the monarch butterflies migrate to. My first launch on skis was off Mount Currie, just with my regular paragliding wing. And then I went to Chamonix, that is the mecca of speed riding, and just watched some of the better guys. I wanted to be experienced and ready before I switched to a smaller wing – it’d be like learning to drive in a hotrod.

What do you love most about flying?
As soon as my feet leave the ground I’m by myself. I feel like with skiing or biking, you are often either too slow or too fast for the people you’re with, so you’re waiting or rushing to catch up. With flying, I’m in my own world making my own decisions until I’m back on the ground. It’s unreal.

 

You might also like:

Screen Shot 2017 03 06 at 8.19.53 AMCOVERING THE ANGLES: 8 TIPS TO POV SUCCESS
In our Febraury 2017 issue, born-and-raised Pemberton skier/flyer/adventurer Austin Ross discussed the sport of Speed Riding (a sort of blend of paragliding and skiing) and the importance of getting creative with your POV camera angles. Check out Austin’s “8 Tricks for POV Success”… Read more

 

 

 

LAST COL WITH AUSTIN ROSSScreen Shot 2017 03 06 at 8.22.50 AM
Born and raised on a hobby farm in B.C.’s Pemberton Valley, Austin Ross quickly fell in love with the mountains. Under the craggy peaks of Mt. Currie, his tight knit family instilled in him a deep desire to explore the natural world, embrace creativity and follow his own path… Read more

Total
0
Shares
Share 0
Tweet 0
Pin it 0
Share 0
Share 0
Share 0
Related Topics
  • Austin Ross
  • Pemberton
Ben Osborne

Previous Article
  • The Great Outdoors
  • Skiing
  • Snowboarding

From the Vault: Celebrating 75 Years of Blue Mountain Resort — Part 6

  • March 2, 2017
  • Ben Osborne
View Post
Next Article
  • Features

Full Circle: 25 Years After Her Parents Circled Baffin Island, Sarah McNair-Landry Duplicates The Feat

  • March 7, 2017
  • Mountain Life Media
View Post
You May Also Like
Skeena-Cat-Skiing-Northern-BC
View Post
  • Skiing
  • Snowboarding

We Were Here

  • Mountain Life Media
  • February 6, 2023
Mountain-Life-Coast-Mountains-Winter-2023
View Post
  • Photography
  • Skiing
  • Snowboarding
  • Surfing
  • Trips & Expeditions

ML Coast Mountains Winter-Spring ’23 Issue Out Now

  • Mountain Life Media
  • February 3, 2023
CHOK-Images-RAB-Avril-2022
View Post
  • Skiing
  • Travel
  • Trips & Expeditions

Chic-Chocs: True Eastern Alpine

  • Editor
  • February 2, 2023
L'Hymne-des-Trembles-Laurentians-Quebec
View Post
  • Skiing
  • Snowboarding
  • Stay & Play

L’Hymne des Trembles: Uncompromising Laurentian Skiing

  • Editor
  • January 27, 2023
Wachs_Fairly-Mellow
View Post
  • Skiing
  • Videos

Friday Flick: “Fairly Mellow” at Fairy Meadow Hut

  • Ned Morgan
  • January 20, 2023
Season-Pass-Skis-and-Splitboard-both
View Post
  • Skiing
  • Snowboarding
  • THE GEAR SHED
  • WINTER GEAR

Gear Shed: New Season Pass Skis + Splitboard Exclusive to evo

  • Mountain Life Media
  • January 15, 2023
Vincent-Colliart-Caroline-Cote-antarctica-sunset
View Post
  • Skiing
  • Trips & Expeditions
  • Women

Canadian Explorer Caroline Côté Reaches South Pole in Record 34 Days

  • Mountain Life Media
  • January 13, 2023
Marie-France-Roy-at-Icefall-Range
View Post
  • Rockies
  • Skiing
  • Trips & Expeditions

The Wild West

  • Mountain Life Media
  • January 10, 2023
Featured Posts
  • Norco-Bigfoot2-fat-bike-winter-ride-MTB 1
    Gear Shed: Midwinter Picks
    • February 7, 2023
  • Skeena-Cat-Skiing-Northern-BC 2
    We Were Here
    • February 6, 2023
  • Mountain-Life-Coast-Mountains-Winter-2023 3
    ML Coast Mountains Winter-Spring ’23 Issue Out Now
    • February 3, 2023
  • Saint-Lawrence-ice-canoe-Jean-Anderson 4
    Jean Anderson: 40 Years of Ice Canoeing
    • January 31, 2023
  • CHOK-Images-RAB-Avril-2022 5
    Chic-Chocs: True Eastern Alpine
    • February 2, 2023
RECENT POSTS
  • Life-Time-Grand-Prix-gravel-bike
    New Docuseries Profiles the World’s Elite Off-Road Cyclists
    • January 30, 2023
  • L'Hymne-des-Trembles-Laurentians-Quebec
    L’Hymne des Trembles: Uncompromising Laurentian Skiing
    • January 27, 2023
  • Fjallraven-Nuuk-Parka-daniel-blom-photo_jacket
    Gear Shed: Multisport Winter Roundup
    • January 26, 2023
Social Links
Instagram 22K Followers
Facebook 25K Likes
Twitter 5K Followers
Pinterest 1K Followers
Vimeo 34 Followers
LinkedIn 0
INSTAGRAM
mountainlifemedia
22K Followers
There is a trend—mostly with tourism organizations and marketing departments, but travel journalists have been on board for a while now too… and the trend is to use the phrase “untouched wilderness” when writing about remote areas like the Skeena Mountains of northern B.C.
Help us wish ML Publisher @glenedwardharris a very happy, pow filled birthday! #mountainlifer
Live It Up EP 22 is OUT NOW!
NEW ML Coast Mountains Winter-Spring ’23 Issue is OUT NOW! 🙌
There are some first times that we will always remember. Like the time I skied off-piste through the alpine highlands of le parc national de la Gaspésie.
@shimizuimg getting those January goods ❄️ #mountainlifer
With four decades of ice canoeing under his belt, Jean Anderson has dominated a sport that's unique to Quebec and that he helped shape.
Featuring three gravel and three MTB events, the series explores the intense competition and love of the sport among 60 of the world’s premier cyclists.
Winter commute with #mountainlifer @michelle_pittam ❄️🚵‍♀️🌲
@lhymnedestrembles.ca is no mirage. Set in the lush Laurentian forest, yet easily accessible (less than an hour and a half from Montreal), this luxurious ski-in ski-out residential resort by @groupebrivia is nestled at the foot of the Versant Soleil side of Mont Tremblant. The Tremblant region is a perennial destination for outdoor enthusiasts from around the world, and within the province, attracting 3.5 million visitors annually.
Follow

Subscribe

Subscribe now to our newsletter

There is a trend—mostly with tourism organizations and marketing departments, but travel journalists have been on board for a while now too… and the trend is to use the phrase “untouched wilderness” when writing about remote areas like the Skeena Mountains of northern B.C.
Help us wish ML Publisher @glenedwardharris a very happy, pow filled birthday! #mountainlifer
Live It Up EP 22 is OUT NOW!
NEW ML Coast Mountains Winter-Spring ’23 Issue is OUT NOW! 🙌
There are some first times that we will always remember. Like the time I skied off-piste through the alpine highlands of le parc national de la Gaspésie.
@shimizuimg getting those January goods ❄️ #mountainlifer
Mountain Life
  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • Subscribe
  • Advertising

Input your search keywords and press Enter.