Get Real

This is allegedly the best time of year for winter enthusiasts; the extreme games have just ended and the world is nearing the destination on the “Road to Sochi”. Snowboarding, along with winter-biathlon, has the spotlight fixed upon itself and we are about to see more corks flying through the air than at a Nate Bozung New Year’s party. This is sure to be a highly entertaining couple of weeks in Russia…well at least for the masses.

This weekend, many of snowboarding’s most recognizable (and least recognizable, yet just as important) figures will be in the state of Washington instead of Sochi to be a part of The Legendary Banked Slalom. The general public, who perceive neon green claw marks and boot grabs to be representative of “real” snowboarding, might not understand why so many riders would choose to attend an event that celebrates the simple act of making turns down a mountain; an art that seems foreign to many these days. However, the LBS is more than just a few timed turns. It is about industry folk, up-and-comers and living legends competing (and having fun) side by side, showcasing the very soul of snowboarding without arbitrary judgment of the event or some rigged internet voting system. Just the rider, a slew of berms and the clock, which is especially refreshing in an Olympic year where, as usual, the games are mired in controversy and corruption (again, Terje was right).

While some events, like the Baker Banked, have been around for what seems like forever, lately it seems like banked slalom events have been popping up all over the country, even on the grassroots level. It is reassuring to see the next generation of riders, pro, am and grom, getting excited about these events. Beyond the slaloms, it is nice to see events like the Vans Hi-Standard Series “Style is Everything” competition that was held a couple weeks ago at Brighton, where style is recognized and rewarded. The cries from people grumbling (sometimes excitedly) that these snowboard-only events are part of what is “killing” snowboarding are bizarre and ironic, after all, these events seem to be making snowboarding stronger on multiple fronts. On one end, the “aging” population of snowboarders is stoked to be able to compete right next to someone less than half their age. The other, is that these events are instilling what snowboarding was meant to be about in the future generations of riders.  

By all means, this is was not written with the intention to take anything away from the high level of skill and giant balls it takes to pop twenty-plus feet out of a monster pipe, or go all out on the (apparently sketchy) slopestyle course. There are even some riders (Thank you, Sage and Danny!) who are bringing a little soul back into those events. The intent is to remind folks that there is, and always has been, MUCH more to snowboarding than the world gets to see every four years. So, if you already know this, I hope you can appreciate the article and pass it on to a friend in need.

Here's just a small taste of what these rad events are like:
Mt. Baker Legendary Banked Slalom 2013 from Lib Tech on Vimeo.

Five Things Not To Say to Someone Missing a Powder Day

In light of me having to be at work today, I created this list real quick. These are based off of things people have actually said to me or asked me...

Five Things Not To Say to Someone Missing a Powder Day

1) Boy, you must be excited about all this new snow!

While I am happy that the storm might be helping the water shed, it’s not helping the scowl on my face every time someone asks me this.  

2) There will always be another storm…

This is true. However, given the recent patterns developing in our winter weather (thanks a lot Fukushima) we have to take advantage of every inch of pow!

3) At least you’ll get to go up when it’s sunny tomorrow!

Nope. Not a consolation. Anyone who has ever ridden a storm day that just pukes refills all day knows that it simply can’t be replicated.

4) Well it’s good you’re getting _________ done today.

Yes, getting stuff done is good. However, while most things will wait until tomorrow… fluffy pow will not.

5) Can’t you just appreciate the fun your friends are posting to Instagram/Facebook?

I am stoked for my friends getting pitted… but if anything I avoid social media like the plague until the day is over. Talk about salt in the wound.

Clever Title Here

There has been plenty of commentary about the NY Times article, written by a skier, preaching that the math and economics of the snowboard industry prove that the "sport" is in trouble. However, after being part of one of the most raucous, high energy and just plain fun shred premiers that I have been to in a while, I felt like I had to offer my two irrelevant pennies. Snowboarding is okay thriving. Some might call that a stretch after going through a couple poor to mediocre winters and having major brands in snowboarding struggle to just stay in business. As the infamous Burritos and Snow once said to me (I'm paraphrasing) There's one, blank check, floating from company to company in the industry; and if anyone ever cashes it, everyone's screwed.

I really think we're alright though. 

I feel like the Absinthe premiere was a microcosm of where snowboarding is right now. Everything about the night was right; speaking with Justin Hostynek before the movie and feeling his passion about what he does, almost nonstop loud cheers, clapping, foot stomping, whistling and general chaos come from the crowd during each and every part, having Mike LeBlanc describe himself as impressed by aforementioned chaos during the film, and then to have everyone get together as friends for an after party (unfortunately, I couldn't make it to that part). The passion and stoke were utterly palpable and genuine. It was so cool to see everyone get so stoked for their fellow riders and friends. 

That last part leads into one of the more awesome parts of the industry right now; the crews. Lick The Cat and The Under Dawgs are holding it down with a bunch of Utah locals. Right now, The Yawgoons are proof that you don't need expansive mountain ranges in your backyard to have fun snowboarding and make noise on an industry wide level. All these kids are having loads of fun, while also making some of the most difficult parts of it look really easy. There are so many other crews, mini crews and individuals out there that are killing it as well; the ones I mention above are just some of my favorites right now.  

Like it or not, business is important to every industry. Business has the ability to potentially make or break an industry; both it's image and monetarily. If the wrong people get behind the wheel of some of the bigger businesses of "core" industries it can take less than a matter of months for the domino effect to set in and that company is blacklisted by the core kids, fair or not. Suddenly, that blank check becomes more and more valuable. That does happen, and it sucks. However, it also gives rise to people who don't want to accept and conform. Take Dinosaurs Will Die for example. I could try to sum up why  they're awesome, but just go read the Hump Day that Sean Genovese did for Yobeat, I'm borderline rambling here. However, it doesn't have to be a snowboarding company to help out the snowboarding industry. Look at places like Cobra Dogs and Spedelli's. Snowboarders hiring snowboarders, snowboarders helping snowboarders. The food is really good too. 

So I guess what I'm trying to say here, is that if you ignore the numbers of snowboard sales at Sports Authority and actually take a look at what makes the industry, the industry, it's in pretty good hands and generally going in the right direction. Will it stay that way permanently? Time will tell... 

We're On TV!

Thanks for reminding me of this hilarious story Jerome...

Michelle and I were on our honeymoon, on a tour at Xel-Ha water park in Mexico. After walking the park and doing touristy things, we had about ninety minutes until we had to leave, so we just started walking around. As we passed the dolphins, I noticed something of a hubub, so we investigated. Turns out it was Criss Angel filming for his TV show. So naturally, as a tourist, I went to take a photo when this huge dude says "Hey, no photos.... but do you want to be in the show?" We agreed; after all, we had about ninety minutes until our bus back to our ferry back to our island left. That's when I learned that TV shows take a long time to film.

With about ten minutes left before our bus left, I told the guy who asked us to be on the show that we had to leave or we'd miss our bus. He said "Let me talk to Criss". Next thing we know, Criss bolts up and says "Who has to leave?!?" Michelle and I awkwardly raised our hands... So he reviews some tape and says we're good to go but he wishes we could stay. I try to take a photo again, but am denied by the big dude again; 0/2. We apologize for needing to leave and carry on to our bus and laugh about the conundrum on the bus ride.

It gets better.

A few days later, at the airport, we're waiting in line to board and I notice Mr Angel in the First Class line. I decided, against the advice of Michelle, to approach him and apologize again and wish him well... and try again for a photo. Criss shakes my hand and says "No Worries brother." I ask for a photo... denied. He says we'll do one at our Houston layover. I walk, defeated, back to an incredibly embarrassed wife. 0/3.

So in Houston, I see Mr Angel at baggage claim. I decided, without any external input, that it would be classified as creepy if I approached him again. So I never got my photo...

Video evidence below...notice we're not in the final shots, haha! Michelle and I are the couple in the middle in case you don't know who we are:



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Di9ANwwVi9E

Taking Back Control

There was a point in my life when I didn't care about much more than conquering the next boss on whatever video game I was engrossed in. No need to go too deep into that part of my life, suffice it to say that it was ugly. A few years later, I decided that version of life sucked. I decided I wanted to take control. I made impactful changes in my life; stopped eating fast food, stopped drinking soda and got my ass off the couch. I was finally back in a good place for my high school years.

Fast forward to my late twenties, I've become complacent and am letting events dictate my life. I just had a kid, I work at a desk job, I use soda as a crutch for “energy”, I suffered a back injury from a car accident and I’m eating like a teenager. That all adds up to a less than ideal version of me; and that’s not good enough. When I look at people who I want to be like when I get “old” there’s definitely a trend in their habits: drink more water (no soda), eat quality food, stay active and most importantly have fun.

My aforementioned back injury has cut my snowboarding season short and made it impossible for me to do anything beyond swimming or walking for the time being. Not that I was taking advantage of being “healthy” before I got rear-ended, but now that going for a jog or hitting the weights isn't even an option it makes me realize how much I want to do those things…Makes me realize that I need to take back control instead of letting life just happen.

I want to be able to not only teach my boy how to snowboard, play ball, ride a bike, etc, but I want to be able to do those things with him way down the road when I’m “old”... and for right now?  I’m simply determined to enter the ‘13/’14 snowboarding season healthier than I ever have before... and throw a proper method. 

The Bone...Spot?

The Bone Zone full movie is live, you best get to watchin’ it before the end of the world happens. Although, I’m pretty sure we’ll all have a chance to watch it after tomorrow…call it a hunch. What I got from the Bone Zone movie, besides solid snowboarding, is a bunch of friends doing what they love and having ridiculous amounts of fun in the process. While I enjoyed the flick, I couldn’t help but think that, for better or worse, we never would have seen a “The Spot” full movie. I just don’t see JP, JJ and that crew taking their pre season warm ups and making a full production out of it. For them, The Spot just isn’t where they want their parts filmed. Now, isn’t that the great thing about individuality, innovation and progression? It took a new generation and a fresh look at what a “pre season spot” can be. Snowboarding is at its best when people are pushing and getting creative with it. I loved seeing photos and clips from The Spot crew in years past, and I love seeing the Bone Zone evolve into what it is today. So, many thanks to those who help break trail like Jeremy Jones and JP Walker, and many thanks to those who are keeping that trail fresh and interesting such as Ted Borland and all those who make the Bone Zone what it is.

Watch the movie here

It's On!

Happy opening day to all of you who get to shred Brighton today! Don't worry about me, I got some yesterday. Here's a small sample of what to look forward to on this November 13th opener....

Have fun!!!

Snow Perspective

2011-2012 Utah Backcountry Review from Trent Meisenheimer on Vimeo.

This video frames, what I will call, Snow Perspective very well. The very substance that inspires everything from floater-dreams in July to white-room-face-shots in February, can be the same substance that will snuff the life out of you in mere minutes. 

Many will head out this weekend for those coveted first turns of the season. Before you go out, catalog the reasons why you need to educate yourself and make quality decisions. Just seven weeks ago I was blessed with the greatest gift I could ever have been given... A healthy baby boy named Jamison. My boy, my wife, my parents, my sisters, my brother and many others are reasons that I made the choice to educate and prepare myself for backcountry winter shredding. What are your reasons? Don't have a baby? What about a spouse... Don't have a spouse? What about parents/siblings... That either? How about other family... How about a significant other... How about letting all the time/money/resources of avalanche forecasters go to waste... How about placing search and rescue crews in unnecessary danger because of your ignorance......

Wow, that got kinda heavy for a second; but then, it is a heavy topic. My point is, that you need to be careful out there no matter what. I don't care if you "have no one" that will miss you if you get carried through a bunch of pines then over an eighty foot cliff to your death.

Your decisions in the backcountry affect people. 

All that being said. get after it this season! Go snowboarding and have fun. Build a gnarly kicker, hit that trophy line or simply go meadow skipping. Just do a little research first. Go to an avalanche clinic, read a book... AT LEAST make a visit to utahavalanchecenter.org part of your winter morning routine.

I'm predicting an average Utah snow season, and I can't wait to slay every last one of those five hundred inches this year. 

Day One, 12/13

Four days before Halloween was day one for the 12/13 season. There was even decent snow. I spent the first hour hiking about halfway up Great Western at Brighton. I had some decent powder there, but towards the bottom found some rocks with my deck, and a stump with my shin. Worth it. 

Stoked.

BurritosAndSnow met me and we proceeded to session a small snow maker pile thing. I had my new camera with me and tried getting some photos. It was a GREAT day!

My first turns of the season. Sloppy, ha ha!

Soon Mount Millicent...soon.

Burrito Press (looked better than the photo appears) Priceless face 

Hope some of you were able to take advantage of this early season snow! 

Winter is Here

Utah's winter has begun... I had just enough time to get to the snow line in Big Cottonwood Canyon and snap a picture.The good stuff, however, is a steady flow shots on the interwebs from Utah locals like the Provo brothers, Kyle Fischer and many more, shows this winter is off to a good start. Though I’m not holding my breath for another stellar winter like 10/11, I am optimistic about having a very average year. That is by no means disappointing after the lack of fluffy stuff in 2012. It’s actually not disappointing after any season, really, especially when you look at how hard the snow industry was hit by the dry 11/12 winter. I’m not going to pretend I have insider info about the industry or anything like that, but the news about Burton aborting Forum, Special Blend and FourSquare is a sobering reminder of the fragility of our beloved industry. If you’re a snowboarder, I know you get this rammed down your throat all that time, but it’s still not often enough; Buy local. If you’re as lucky as me and have awesome shops in your ‘hood, like Milo and Salty Peaks, shop at those places!

Anyhow, I can’t wait to get on the snow this season! I hope you’re getting the goods while, at least for today, I play cubicle jockey… 

Motivation

I just had a moderately deep conversation with one of my best friends; we'll call him Tom Jones. Anyhow, we just finished playing some of the lamest pick up basketball I've been involved with for a long time. There were a couple of kids there who are a lot younger and faster than us and they were douching out on levels difficult for human comprehension. They weren't even playing ball. Just grab-assing up and down the court like inbred cousins or something. That's kind of besides the point, but a little bit relevant as it led to Tom expressing that he should quit playing basketball. Now, I know this statement from Tom was 70% joking, but there was a look from Mr Jones I hadn't seen before. He really didn't want to be on the court at that moment.

That is a terrible yet magical place to be.

Where you realize you used to have something special that is now slipping away, and unless you make a change, you're gonna lose it completely. This is terrible because it sucks realizing that you, at one point in time, were invincible. The magic is when you use that gut-dropping feeling of shame, remorse, embarrassment or whatever the bad feeling is, to fuel your fire for change.

Tom Jones... I implore you; use the douches to motivate a change. Every time you want to do something that isn't going to propel you closer to where/what you want to be, remember the moment you experienced at basketball tonight. Use it to better yourself.

I've had several Tom Jones moments in my lifetime; some I wasted, some I took advantage of and leveraged change from them.

So I guess the moral of the story is: haters gonna hate... or something.

Since it's a snowboarding blog...

Why I Love Snowboarding

Almost 5 months since the last post... guess that's the nature of a snowboard blog. Anyhow, no fancy title for this one; I'm just going to explain why (at least I think why) I have so much passion for snowboarding. This post blew up into some sort of journal entry/weird blog-therapy session for me... ha ha. So now, real quickly I will explain why I love snowboarding; and over the next few weeks I will post the background on the experiences that granted me such passion for it.

Snowboarding is one of the first things that I stuck with. It didn't come naturally to me. I had to truly work my ass of to even learn how to link turns. I didn't get into it from watching 'Subjekt Haakonsen', or any other one of those films that premier each fall. I never really learned to skateboard. Maybe that means I'm not "core" or whatever, but I guarantee I have more fun on the mountain than a lot of those "core" riders. It was the first time I had started something that was outside of my comfort zone and followed it through to the point of I-don't-suck-at-it-anymore. The bruises, sweat, tears and frustration I poured into teaching myself have made me cherish every cliff drop, pow slash and park sesh I have the joy of experiencing. People call me crazy for going back the the sport that put me in the hospital for three days... they don't understand. As long as I can stand up, I'll be shredding.

Just Snowboard

At times, it seems like doing something won't be worth it. Getting yourself out of bed, going the extra mile at work and maybe getting to that "awesome" social event. Say you do pull yourself out of bed, sadly, chances are that extra mile at work gets overlooked and that social event turns out to be a total tool-fest. However, when it comes to snowboarding, it's almost always gonna be worth it.

I actually had two days last week where I almost didn't go riding; that would have been a shame. The first day was actually a night. Forecast showed freezing rain for the night, which is absolutely miserable. Luckily it snowed, stayed pretty warm and I got to shred with some good friends. Second day came with a forecast of "high winds"  that nearly derailed a super fun day. I decided just to go anyway, brave the winds and procrastinate homework for another day. As it turns out, it wasn't really windy at all, just a classic Utah spring slush day.

I guess the moral of this whole thing is that snowboarding is awesome... but we already knew that.

Good Reminder

My first thought upon watching this was how frail all that steel looks when being hit by a bunch of snow. Nature's been really generous lately with handing out reminders of how small and feeble humans and our contraptions are.

Good Odds

I like them odds...

Tron Shred

My friend Wren just put this little diddy together. I don't share this to brag about skills I have or anything. Mainly this is a cool song and a good job of editing by Wren. You should see his other stuff over at Wasatch Attack. Maybe someday we'll be a fraction of what the supernaturals are... ha ha!

Supernatural Beings

Via TranswoldSnow: Gigi frontside 360 nose tap on his way to second place. PHOTO: Chris Wellhausen

The Red Bull Supernatural contest has been tagged as a game changer, setting the standard for future snowboarding competitions and many other well deserved accolades (I'm of course saying that having seen nothing but a few pics, and reading articles like the one attached, but I think it's a pretty solid statement). The fact that this, a snowboarding only event, is being broadcast on network television indeed shows how far snowboarding has come. I mean, it definitely doesn't hurt when you have a guy with as crazy an imagination and vision as Travis Rice and the financial backing of Red Bull to pull it off. With BrainFarm having filmed this, you know we are in for some of the best snowboarding footage to date.

All that stuff and really, I'm just excited to watch these guys flow that mountain side. The lineup of riders includes many an "all time favorite" for countless fans and pro's alike. I can't choose just one favorite of the group, but I really like Jake Blauvelt. You can see why here. Although, with any of these guys you're guaranteed an unmatched display of taking what they are given and turning it from snow, wood and ramps into art. From Nico and Terje's unmatched tweaked out grabs and buttery style to the raw power and precision of riders like T.Rice and John Jackson. With this event, you get the best of snowboarding.

Check out what we know so far about the contest at Transworld Snow.

(Not So...) Crappy Day

I was having a pretty crappy morning today, kinda feeling bad for myself. After thinking about the fact that I got two pow days in a winter that has been been drier than a cow pie on mars and watching this video, I realized that things really aren't that bad... oh and that hunger was playing a major role in how my day started off. Burrito time nomnomnom!


Yosemite HD from Project Yosemite on Vimeo.

Borrowed Burritos

I've been meaning to write up a new post lately, it's been a while. After seeing the 'Basin berating video I thought I would write something up. I'm not gonna lie, I was going to go off on how lame I thought it was and that the it makes me want to go to Snowbasin a little less (I've never been, still want to go). I decided to sleep on it and think a bit more. I still think this should have gone down different, but it is what it is. This morning I found that a local shredder/blogger, BurritosAndSnow, wrote a post about this. I like his take, so here's a link to the post:

http://burritosandsnow.com/2011/12/28/harassment-at-snowbasin-more-indicative-of-a-greater-problem/

First Days 2011 and The Spot...

Got up to shred Brighton a few times already, super fun. First day was a solo mish, just my headphones to accompany me. Some of my favorite riding happens on solo. Also got up with Wren from Wasatch Attack and Zack from Snow Joker. We had about a foot of fresh that day, only found like two rocks and a stump... Glad I have a Never Summer! Gonna be a great season... as long as I can avoid hitting my elbow on anything.

The Spot. Doesn't sound too glorious, right? Well, depending on your definition of glorious, it's not. Now, I've never been to "The Spot", and probably never will. Looks like they have a lot of fun up there. I mean camping, snowboarding, axes, knives, fire and pizza?!? Pretty cool... Maybe someday I'll "tool up" my own spot. Until then, I'll just hit up Brighton.

Here's a funny clip showing what us outsiders can envy: