Life Beyond Walls: New Zealand Ep2

Check out this second mountain bike episode of SMITH's Life Beyond Walls webisode series, Life Beyond Walls: New Zealand, Episode 2.

This series is all about the journey and giving viewers an inside look at what happens along the way.  No matter how much planning is done, some things are just out of your control.  All you can do is keep the cameras rolling. We promise there is more riding in this one…
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The riding in it is amazing. The Instagram video is attached which you can also download and add to your own Instagram if you would like to.  Watch the Video

Life Beyond Walls: New Zealand Ep2 - After long days of dodging bad weather, the SMITH team headed up the pass through the Southern Alps towards the Canterbury high country, the home of popular winter ski fields just outside of Christchurch and some epic mountain bike terrain.  From scree fields to the beautiful beech forests, the SMITH crew descended from ski lifts to the forest floor.



With nothing but riding on everyone's mind, we headed straight to Cheeseman Peak ski field for the afternoon. Sitting at just over 6,000ft, Cheeseman is known for its open rolling terrain and epic landscapes. We snaked our way through single-track surrounded by the native bush just before dusk. These were the conditions we had been dreaming of since arriving in New Zealand.



“Today I rallied the troops. 4am wakeup call and we were on our way back up to the top of Cheeseman ski field. The hike up was brutal, but we were instantly rewarded with a stunning sunrise upon our arrival to the summit. Now to go down. Steep, full speed scree shredding. I had never ridden anything quite like it.” - Joey Schusler


 
From shingle scree fields to beautiful beech forests, Craigieburn ski field offers a variety of terrain as the single track drops you from the ski lift to the root covered forest floor. In the winter, Craigieburn is operated by a non-profit organization of enthusiastic club members and seasonal staff. It exists solely for the purpose to fuel the passion of the mountains. We would say it accomplishes the same in the summer.



Our time in the mountains was up, we were back in the RV, back on the road, and back on this crazy journey heading south to Queenstown.

Team Riders:
Joey Schusler
Lars Sternberg
Mike Hopkins
Rosara Joseph
Alex “KrunkShox” McGuinnis
Carolynn Romaine

Photos: Paris Gore
Film: Joey Schusler and Thomas Woodson
Team Manager and Words by: Mallory Burda

www.smithoptics.co.nz/lifebeyondwalls