Opening just a few days after regular operations shut down at Whistler Blackcomb is the Horstman glacier, tucked away at the top of 7th heaven chair and just waiting to be shredded for your summers enjoyment. For those who haven't skied the glacier in the summer, it's divided into two parts and the majority of the non race training lanes are taken up by two camps: Momentum and Camp of Champions. Thankfully this year, the Horstman glacier was also blessed with some of the best weather we have ever seen at the camps and it went off in a BIG way.

Momentum is a ski only camp and the coach lineup this year read like an X-Games entry list; TJ Schiller, Colby West, Pete Olenick, Matt Hayward, Mike Riddle, Sarah Burke, Josh Bibby...the list goes on. At the bottom of their park Salomon provided the demo skis and hotdogs and Salomon/Skull Candy provided the tunes spun by DJ Dakota.

With the sad demise of High North camp last year, Momentum picked up the extra lane this year and put it to good use with a 110ft stepdown followed by a super smooth 80ft stepover. Over the course of the summer this last feature would see some of the best sessions as people like Tanner Rainville, Sammy Carlson and Alexis Godbout tore it apart.

The camp's main lane is split in two by the showcase t-bar. On one side, a steep rail section followed by a large jump and on the other side a HUGE wallride followed by a great selection of rails and curved boxes of all shapes and sizes.

On the other side of the glacier is Camp of Champions whose meticulously sculpted park is something of a masterpiece and quite a lot bigger than Momentum's although it is also home to a considerable number of snowboarders. Coaching at COC is lead by Matt Sterbenz, co-owner of 4FRNT skis and he drafts in help from the likes of Anthony Boronowski, Joe Schuster, Jess Cumming and Wiley Miller.

Of course people come to these camps not just to throw down what they already have, but also to learn new things and all the camps provide some excellent ways to get this done. Momentum campers can take part in anything up to five water ramp sessions a week with coaching provided by Rory Bushfield at the excellent training facility near the base of Blackcomb.

Camp of Champions also provides water ramp sessions and trampoline training for campers but this year they also added the bag jump. Anytime during the day, campers can take some time out to hit the quarterpipe or the jump that sends you straight onto the huge air bag at the bottom of the park.

When the skiing day is done, the fun is far from over. Momentum and COC also offer an almost endless list of apres-ski activities from paintball to mini-golf and COC campers even had their own mini-ramp set up right outside the dormitories!

With summer parks of the standard of most resort's winter parks, its no surprise that the pros from all over the world flock to the Horstman glacier. From Japan to Spain and everywhere in between, this was THE place to be in June. Session 1 at COC was Joystick week and Whistler's own Anthony Boronowski unveiled his winter movie project "Hot lunch" to a packed cinema of stoked campers. COC Session 2 was Oakley week and Tanner Hall, Sean Pettit, Yuta Ueno and Phil Casabon were there among others as temperatures down in the village reached nearly 40 degrees!! Summer was really in full swing.

During session 3 of Camp Of Champions I got a call to say that 4 FRNT would be having a team shoot one evening that week as part of their team week. Riders would be Wiley Miller, Luke Van Valin, Matt Hayward, Finn Anderson, Kalle Leinnonen, Even Sigstad and Matt Sterbenz. Norwegian photog Endre Loovas was also on hand to document. After a bit of consultation with the ski patrol weather radar, a night was picked and we drove up to the chair lift at 6pm, grabbed a bite to eat and got down to business pretty quickly as the light was perfect. Smooth, stylish tricks was the name of the game to get the best photos and soon the camera flashes were firing at a fearsome rate as the sun went down. SEE THE VIDEO BELOW

In the final week, Momentum's head honcho John Smart decided it was time for their annual sunset shoot too. As lunchtime rolled around on the big day though, so did the clouds but in planning terms things were already past the point of no-return. Lifties and ski patrol were booked and John had bought a lot of beer! So we waited it out in the Horstman Hut restaurant above the glacier and passed the time with a few BBQ burgers and beverages. As they say, good thing come to those who wait..so we waited..and waited...and...4 hours later our patience was rewarded.

And what a reward it was with skiers like Spriggs, Turpin, Hayward, Tudor, Henituk, Brogan, Bibby and Riddle skiing so hard on the 2 large jumps I didn't know which way to point my camera. As the sun set lower in the sky, the dramatic clouds on the horizon burnt up like Armageddon and provided one of the most breathtaking backdrops I have ever seen. A great way to bring an end to a great summer. See you up there next year!

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TAGS: Dan Carr, Camp of Champions, Matt Margetts, Jen Crichton, Blackcomb Glacier