Editor’s Note: This is the first in a weekly column covering snowboarding that will continue until otherwise noted.
So now that it’s officially spring, we thought we’d start this column (we’re so on it). Truth be told, this ridiculous winter has inspired us (thanks El Nino). Hopefully you found that out on your own and stayed safe amongst the asinine amounts of snow, especially this month in western North America. For those who haven’t, you’re blowing it. Look at the bright side: there’s TONS of snow out there still, so get amongst it over the next few months.
Starting this week I’ll be sharing a weekly roundup of the goings-on around the snowboarding world. There will undoubtedly be things I miss, so feel free to tweet at me with juicy info. Don’t be a weenie, either. I want the goods, so spill it: vid links, photos, news, bring it. Make this space better with me. This is, however, a highlight reel, not an anthology, but if it’s good, it’ll make the cut:
Photo: World Snowboard Championships
World Snowboard Championships
The world’s top freestyle competitors were in China this past week to battle over a $500,000 purse in the Corona World Snowboard Championships. The Chinese are gearing up for the winter Olympics in Beijing in 6 short years, and this quadrennial event culminates the 6-stop World Snowboard Tour. Riders competed in big air and slopestyle with a halfpipe exhibition – the actual halfpipe contest was cancelled due to challenging conditions. Maybe I’m missing something, but if they can still hold an exhibition, they can run the damn contest. What are these commies afraid of? Joke’s on them though, because the only hope that China had for a podium spot was in their halfpipe riders (they’re virtually irrelevant in other disciplines).
Jamie Anderson swept the competition for the women, taking the top podium spot in both slopestyle and big air. Finn Enni Rukäjrvi came in second in both, setting the stage for a great rivalry between the top women (we’ve got a couple good ones in women’s snowboarding now). On the men’s side, Brandon Davis took the top nod in slopestyle, while Peetu Piiroinen, another Finn, won the big air with a flawless cab 1440 mute.
Onboard mag had a pretty sick photo series of the contests here.
Photo: Mitch Winton
El Niño
The entire month of March so far has been a powder party everywhere from the Continental Divide westward. That’s no surprise to those who’ve been following my recent posts (here and here) advising everyone to do what they can to ensure they caught at least a couple of the seemingly endless storm cycles that have happened so far. Basically, it’s been nuts. People are crossing off lines that haven’t been open in the past few years. But with the good comes the bad, and there have also been a string of deaths from avalanches to tree wells due to the massive snowfall. It seems like I tap this ’till my fingers are sore but to no avail: respect the freakin’ mountains, and appreciate the fact that we have this opportunity to shred powder. It doesn’t always have to be gnar.
“Thank You #JHPOWOW!! Photo: Mike Basich
Jackson Hole PowWow
Speaking of snow, Jackson Hole was blessed with 40″ over 72 hours that conveniently fell during the fourth annual JH PowWow event. This invite-only weekend saw some of the top riders in the game testing out over 100 different boards, from new concept shapes to bindingless pow surfers. There was also a talk component called “ShredX” where speakers like pro rider Mike Basich shared slides from his impressive self portrait collection that he recently compiled into a book. Burton’s archivist Todd Kolhman also spoke, sharing anecdotes from the industry giant’s 40 year history. Less of a party atmosphere than other gatherings, this event was all about riding hard and testing boards to their limit on some of the best terrain and snow conditions. And hopefully there was some real talk about how to improve the economic state of our industry. It’s a shit-show right now. But with the fading hype, the cream will rise to the top. Bringing a select few out to Jackson Hole to push the latest innovations to their max is a good beacon of hope that people are still in it for the right reasons – compared to overhyped “World Championships” that had only one competitor from the host country in the big air or slopestyle.
If snowboarding is to survive, we all will have to get together and support more of these grassroots events and companies, and stop letting massive self-serving organizations dictate the sport’s progression through these corporate circle jerks. At the end of the day, they need us (and our wallet) more than we need them, so time for snowboarders all around the world to push more events and gatherings like the PowWow or Legendary Banked Slalom and chart the true course going forward.
“The majestic Mount Fairweather (I think) was part of the landscape during lunch today. I love Alaska.” Photo: Phil Tifo
Filming Season In Full Swing
Now is the time of year where Insta-envy kicks in hard as riders and brands alike share the latest while filming their segments. Great, like I needed to have more envy in life. The crew from The Snowboarder Movie took advantage of a weather window and headed to Alaska. Whistler rider Joel Loverin and friends hit up the iconic Tantalus Range between Squamish and Whistler, a common sight while driving the sea-to-sky highway but rarely attempted. Now is the time to ensure your social media subscriptions are current, unless you are prone to psychotic outbursts due to FOMO. In that case, maybe become a baseball fan or something…
“Nothing beats riding some steeps with snow this good. This was such a fun run!!!” Joel Loverin
There’ll be much more anarchy in the next few weeks. Stay tuned. Seriously, tweet me ideas to @whererusteve or contact me on my website. God knows my editors have nothing creative to add.
Until then, stay safe, and shred hard!
