The Snowboarder BlogSnowboarding Blog

via WhoaSnow

The conclusion to “The Season”, a television series following athletes through their years. This is the second episode with Jonaven Moore (click here for the first) on his return to professional snowboarding.

The official description: “Jonaven’s season is nearing its conclusion, but before that happens he’s got a statement to make. An unexpected window of weather and avalanche stability allows a trip to the Tantalus where Jonaven and snowboarder Jeremy Jones put their ‘climb what you ride’ mentality into action.”

Definitely worth watching.

The Season Episode 17 from Fitz Cahall and Bryan Smith on Vimeo.

via www.frqncy.com

Just found this awesome video of Catskiing near Fernie. It’s hard to describe how amazing fresh lines are on a cat day, but this shows it all. There’s no wonder that it’s most of our NONSTOPers favourite day riding.

Cat skiing and snowboarding is available on most of our Canadian NONSTOP courses. And you can even do a tour of the Rockies with our Snow Safari.

More info for snowboarders.

More info for skiers.

via nonstopski.com

Operation shred your face off in AK with Burtner and the Think Thank crew…

via www.frqncy.com

Sometimes a week can feel like a year. Case in point: The Telus World Ski and Snowboard Festival. I arrived home yesterday morning feeling something like the dudes in The Hangover—brain swimming with overstimulation, and a bit of a case of the what-just-happened’s. To spark my memory, I turned to a collection of photos. What the camera revealed:

The Pro Photographer Showdown was packed, and the surf guys dominated.

 Even the lifties seemed to think staying home and drinking was a better idea than riding, despite the attraction of slushy afternoon hit runs.

Parties. Lots of them. The Asymbol Gallery Opener (see video, below), Dead Prez, Partysnake, and everything Grenade Games.

And even a fair bit of snowboarding.

But for the sake of brevity, and with coverage already up from the Grenade Games Moguls, Pipe comp, and Asymbol Gallery opening, I will simply focus on the last weekend of the festival. Saturday arrived cold and wet, with a fresh dusting up high and an inviting hot tub below. Bunked up in the Whistler-Blackcomb media house, I chose to enjoy the lap of luxury for a day. After, all, we had reservations for Sushi Village, and needed to save strength for the Grenade Games Grand Finale and Savage Blade after party. A 6pm departure seemed to suit the festival—night time recreation had become the norm.

So, it wasn’t until several sake sake margaritas, an encounter with a bachelorette party, and a healthy dose of Ahi Po that we migrated to the hill for the Grand Finale—a spectacle to be sure. Kael Hill rode naked, with only a beer keeping him modest. Andrew Burns threw down all over the course, tapping the 30-foot pole jam, sliding picnic benches, and bringing multiple spin variations to the gap booter up top. Vera Janssen, the only female in the finale, rode smooth, despite her claim that “Snowboarding in the village was really awkward.” Mark Sollors, Thursday’s Most Radical Dude of the Day, solidified his standing as Most Radical Dude of the Festival and won a key—and later a brand new yellow Camaro—with under-rotated backflip attempts in front of the media scene at the GLC and technical bonks-of-death on the log jam. And Dave Fortin stepped up with fifteen minutes left in the contest, silenced his inner demons from a 90-foot knuckle collision last year and shut the contest down. Whistler’s Ryan Proctor later said, “Dave Fortin is a local hero. I watched him break his nose and his tail on his snowboard during the moguls. He had cuts on his face and didn’t even know it.”

Despite oversized checks for $10,000 and a big bottle of JD on stage, this still seemed a warm up for the night to come, and hangover to follow. A later discussion with organizer Dano Pendygrasse—and the defending BC amateur mogul champion—confirmed as much when he described the upcoming show. “I don’t know if anybody knows Savage Blade, but they’re from Fernie, BC, and part of the band is from BC/DC. This is their second show, I’ve been listening to their demo cd for a month and a half, but they sound like they’ve been playing together for 20 years. It’s going to be like going to see Judas Priest in 1984. Just wait.”

Let’s just say it lived up to the hype—it may have been the rowdiest mosh pit to ever grace the slopeside venue and fueled jagermeister shot dominoes, torn shirts, and a few bloody noses, to say the least. It’s Tuesday, and I’m still shaking off the cobwebs left over from the Grenade Games and the festival—precisely how Dano planned it.

Thanks to Michelle Leroux and Ryan Proctor from Whistler-Blackcomb, “house moms” Steph Rogers and Sarah, and Dano for an amazing week, and prompting me to begin a personal intervention and stay off the booze for the next few weeks. And I’m both excited and afraid to see how you can top it all next year.

via www.frqncy.com

Jibs, jumps, and many of your favorite Cascadians and Canadians. Another week with Burtner…

WEAKly Report 15 from Jesse Burtner on Vimeo.

via www.frqncy.com

First morning in AK, looking into the Valley of the Tusk – so stoked.

Before I knew it I was signed up for some last minute health insurance, bags packed, squashed in a plane seat and hoping I didn’t forget anything which was essential for the two weeks of snow cave camping that lay ahead of me. The next two weeks nestled into the Thompson Pass is something that is now ingrained in my mind forever. Big thanks to Spark R&D who put up the bill for myself and Erik Morrison who was competing in the 2010 – reincarnation of the King of The Hill contest.

Andy Finch slashes pow over some exposure during the 2010 King of the Hill Contest.

Travis Rice charges out of the shadows and into 1st place as the “2010 King of the Hill”.

Our first morning on the pass came early and it came bluebird as ever. Erik and I linked up with another Montana ripper and Tailgate veteran Aaron Robinson who showed us an amazing day in the Valley of The Tusk. From that day on, I was in a snowboarding shell shock and the trip had only just begin. My second day was spent at the base of  ‘Bro-bowl’  shooting the Recco King of the Hill World Extreme Free ride Competition. Give a huge thanks to Nick Perata and Mark Sullivan for making the contest come together; it was a snowboard contest that has been missed for over a decade – it was a huge undertaking and these guys pulled it off. The contest was a visual history of shred from legends like Shawn Farmer to young guns like Travis Rice and Scotty Lago. Lines where getting pulled straight out of your favorite shred porn and nail biting billy-goating came and went, it was a visual onslaught of riding that won’t be seen till next year’s tailgate.

After the contest the mood changed and not that it was bad to begin with – but now everyone could focus on the fun and ride just for themselves, wrap up video parts and maybe rake in some photo incentives. The longer everyone was in camp the more like family everyone became. Over the two weeks at one point or another everyone passed in and out of the yurt and maybe squeezed in a game of ping-pong. On one of the last nights of Tailgate, Spark R&D threw down and Erik and made a burger and beer run down to Valdez. That night at the barbecue everyone came together around the free kegs Alaskan Amber, the grill and someone rounded up a speaker system which hosted a few Kingwill freestyle battles.

Tailgate AK was full of great lines late into the day and hanging with a bunch of like-minded people that by the end of the week felt like you’d been friends for years. Sharing pots, pans and plenty of un-showered funk was the bond at camp while everyone shared their favorite “Wingnut” quote of the day. The Thompson Pass holds some of the most addicting terrain I’ve set foot in and like many of the smiling faces I encountered I have plans to return next year for as long as the money with stretch.

Erik Morrison and Brandon Cocard taking in the views as the Tusk rises in the background.

Erik Morrison doing some ride and developement for Spark R&D.

Flat Stanleys flying stand-by with ABA Heli guides under the Northern Lights.

Aaron Robinson linking some of his last turns for the day. 

via www.frqncy.com

Mt. Baker, WA – With an early opener/November powder pounding and mid-season warming lull, April 2010 proved to as legendary as other legendary winters in the North Cascades. Deep, deep sessions well after the spring equinox reminded all that it ain’t over ‘til the Howat’s power that last lift down. And the closer proved to be the icing on the slush.
 
With the other Sea-town and North Shore resorts mothballed for the season, many of Sub-Pop rock city’s finest bee-lined for the lower White Salmon parking lot and a freaking Baker-palooza of BBQ’s, 70’s funk dress, and the requisite blaring cacophony of Marley/Metallica. Crews from Tacoma to Tswassen filled the lot well past even Banked Slalom crowd standards and the party done got started correct. Actually, for those who were on it, both Fri and Sat provided pow lines only weeks before May, and even on Sunday, with summer encroaching, there were groovy and soft lines to be had off the Arm, Herman and not-all-that-far out of bounds.
 
Outfit highlights: Matt Edgers in quasi-Easy Rider garb pedaling a chopper-bike around the lower lot, Santa Claus, Spiderman, a posse of Glacier girls in NBA-style jerseys (AKA ghetto gowns) with flesh-colored lycra shorts, for the “bottom-less” effect. As for topless, there is never a shortage of sporty college dudes focused on their best Abercrombie pose while trying not to blow the six Keystone Lights they had on the lift. Sightings included the usual heads of Rocker James, Maxx von Marbod, Billy Bear, Lucas Debari, Pat McCarthy, Tarek, and others. The Mervin heads got it all in the previous sessions, with VP of Rad Peter Saari having logged four days in a couple weeks of blower goodness before Quik shareholders dragged him back to Sequimtucky.
 
With brats, beers, snowball fights and a clear and positive disregard for the signs in the parking lot noting the USFS ski area (with a liquor license) policy of requiring the public (AKA landowners) to not have open containers outside their vehicles (apparently to be in compliance with both WA state law and USFS policy, one is expected to drink in your car, with the keys out of the ignition; brilliant) the closer was as classic as any in recent memory. Special thanks to the Mt. Baker staff and especially the Howat family for continuing to provide an oasis of stoke in an era when too many ski areas resemble and act as alpine malls.
 
God bless Mt. Baker and see all in 2010-11.

$(function() {
$(’a.sgLightbox’).lightbox({
fileLoadingImage: SG_SHARED_DIR + ‘images/lightbox/loading.gif’,
fileBottomNavCloseImage: SG_SHARED_DIR + ‘images/lightbox/closelabel.gif’,
imageBtnPrev: SG_SHARED_DIR + ‘images/lightbox/prev.gif’,
imageBtnNext: SG_SHARED_DIR + ‘images/lightbox/next.gif’,
imageBlank: SG_SHARED_DIR + ‘images/lightbox/blank.gif’
});
});

via www.frqncy.com

Whistler, BC (April 23, 2010) – Sometimes it can be hard to get up and go for a pipe contest when it looks like rain, but the Grenade Games just keep rolling and sheer momentum (and the promise of kokanee and tube steaks) pulled me from the comfortable confines of the Whistler-Blackcomb media house and onto the gondola to the top. On the way to the lift, some young folks asked me to get them a Monster–apparently you need parental consent to overly-caffeinate yourself on free energy drinks these days. That bit of strangeness out of the way (what happened to asking people to bootleg booze and smokes?), I arrived at the crack of noon ahead of the crowds, but soon the decks were lined with spectators, photogs and general riff raff as the jam session got underway in the 22-foot superpipe.

$(function() {
$(’a.sgLightbox’).lightbox({
fileLoadingImage: SG_SHARED_DIR + ‘images/lightbox/loading.gif’,
fileBottomNavCloseImage: SG_SHARED_DIR + ‘images/lightbox/closelabel.gif’,
imageBtnPrev: SG_SHARED_DIR + ‘images/lightbox/prev.gif’,
imageBtnNext: SG_SHARED_DIR + ‘images/lightbox/next.gif’,
imageBlank: SG_SHARED_DIR + ‘images/lightbox/blank.gif’
});
});

Justin Lamoureux and Kale Stephens hiked the pipe early and held it down for the local contingent, with Lamoureux boosting big spins first hit and Stephens showing that backcountry dudes can handle transitions as well. Danny Kass eventually caught a snow machine to the top and showed that he can still kill it, and a slew of relative unknowns stepped up and charged as the walls softened into the afternoon—even Todd Richards was seen bringing back the Wet Cat at one point.

And in true Grenade Games fashion, when the skies clouded over, the beers kept flowing and a giant grenade-shaped piñata came into play across from the strategically placed hitching post on the deck and exploded to t-shirts for all.

Indeed, as the afternoon wore on, the beer gardens filled up and drew most of the action to the bottom of the pipe, so I migrated down with the crowd to see the winner’s checks get handed out before moving on to a mini-pipe session as snow began falling from the skies. That’s right folks, winter’s still trying to hold on, and it looks like it might be a pow day tomorrow for the $10,000 grand finale…here’s to keeping that momentum up for one more day—and watch out because the party snake is biting tonight at Garf’s.

Results:

1^st: Jordan Phillips

2^nd: Kyle Thomas

3^rd: Justin Lamoureux

Best Handplant: Korath Wright

Highest Air: Jake Koia

And $500 to TJ Schneider for a 50-50 on the hitching post and Kael Hill for riding a 133 rental board and doing cab 10s out the bottom of the pipe.

via www.frqncy.com

Whistler, BC (April 22, 2010) – “Everybody wins as long as you got a beer!”

$(function() {
$(’a.sgLightbox’).lightbox({
fileLoadingImage: SG_SHARED_DIR + ‘images/lightbox/loading.gif’,
fileBottomNavCloseImage: SG_SHARED_DIR + ‘images/lightbox/closelabel.gif’,
imageBtnPrev: SG_SHARED_DIR + ‘images/lightbox/prev.gif’,
imageBtnNext: SG_SHARED_DIR + ‘images/lightbox/next.gif’,
imageBlank: SG_SHARED_DIR + ‘images/lightbox/blank.gif’
});
});

I heard this from the Dingo more than once today as he worked the mic at the Grenade Games dual slalom moguls competition. Yes, it was back for another year. Defending champ Myrosha Daley was on hand to race, the sun was shining, the hot dogs barbecuing, and the kokanees flowing as things got underway by Blackcomb’s Glacier Lodge.

Moved to a new, more viewer-friendly venue, Davie’s Dervish, a purpose built bump run looked steep and intimidating during the firm conditions of the morning. But, as the sun baked the bumps and the brews lubricated the crowd, times got faster and faster in a jam-session format. It hardly had the air of a serious competition where a brand new Camaro might just be on the line. Instead, it was more like trying to navigate a few bumps in the middle of party laps with an ever-growing crew of friends from around the world.

Eventually, Dingo started calling tricks, and riders abided. Front flips, back flips, even a few 7s were thrown into the rutted, moguled landing near the bottom of the course, but none as big or clean as Dennis Bannock’s perfectly stomped wildcat as the clock neared two. Mark Sollors attempted to straight line the whole course and ate shit—hard—before rallying back to the top to smash some gates. He didn’t seem so concerned with going around them as much as through them.

And somewhere amidst the chaos, the field was whittled down to four remaining riders: Myrosha, Travis Williams, Dennis Bannock and a rider simply known as Pablo (apparently a one-named wonder, kind of like Prince). In a head to head format, Mr. Pablo took down the competition, as Williams and Daley held down second and third, respectively (“third is the new first,” Daley would later claim.)

Indeed, the dual slalom moguls was exactly what you might have expected from a dual slalom moguls contest held by Danny Kass and co: a booze-fueled party run where someone actually won something—in this case a custom snowboard and a chance at owning a half-ton piece of American-made horsepower. And this is just the beginning: Kandi Coded is playing tonight, half pipe goes tomorrow, followed by the big-money grand finale on Saturday. Fasten your seatbelts…

Grenade Games 6 – Day 3 from monster canada on Vimeo.

Main Image: Dennis Bannock, backy

via www.frqncy.com