The Camp

Watkin McLennan, taking a frozen cliff line at home in Mount Buller. Photo: Corcoran

Mammoth turns on for a month of skiing progression

By Watkin McLennan

Ten years ago Dirk Nannes, one of Australia’s leading freestyle skiers in the late 1990s, launched a summer coaching program called the Camp. The premise is simple – set up base overseas, employ some of the best ski and snowboard coaches in Australia and have young riders come over so they can lean and progress. It is all about free riding.

While Dirk’s sporting career took a different direction – he’s now a fast bowler for the Victorian cricket team and has played in the Australian 20/20 team – the Camp is still going strong

For the past two years I have been lucky enough to coach at the Mammoth camp. It’s all about a good time with the addition of learning skills far broader than just park riding. I like to think the campers not only learn about skiing and the mountains but also learn life skills that enable them to mature into young adults. We work as a team to make our adventure enjoyable, safe and fulfilling. Camps are also run in Japan (December/January) and New Zealand (September/October).

This past season in Mammoth we were blessed for five days straight as the Sierra Nevadas were pummelled with ten feet of snow. Enormous cliffs were dropped, skis were lost and we caught a glimpse of Nimbus Independent filming their seasonal flick. Before this week of madness we experienced 20 days of near perfect park weather, where the campers were able to tune their shredding skills and style. Gus Berger was on staff to capture all the action and this is what he came up with.

For more information go to: www.thecamp.net

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