Beavis Backside Powdersurfing (in 2 feet of champaign)

The forcast called for 1 to 3 inches and it decided to snow 2 feet instead. I cancelled the sled plan and cruised on up to the mighty Beav. Grings and I tested the front and decided to head on back to the backside for the day. It got deeper and deeper every run. Free refills at the beavis!
We slashed 3 or 4 of the classic backside runs and hitched our way back to the resort. Ross picked us up on one of our runs. He was bringing his lady up for a taste of the beav.
By 3 oclock or so I decided it was time to lose the bindings and take some powdersurf runs. I was worried about it being too deep, but my powdersurf board was actually floating better than my snowboard.
It was almost “too deep for the beav” but I was able to get enough speed to catch a few face shots. Tasty pow.

Peep the POV action…

Mini-golf Powsurf Session


The day wouldn’t be complete without taking some powsurf runs. I tested the new foam decks out here and they passed the test. A little weird in the air but they carved like a hot knife thru butter.
Slashing on the powdersurf boards will never get old.

High speed bindingless Ollie….scary.

Moonlight Powdersurfing Repeat

It was so much fun that I had to go back for more. It’s not often you get a full moon on a clear night and good snow conditions. I had a couple of photo/video ideas I wanted to experiment with. They didn’t really work out- I need a couple more pieces of gear to make it happen for real.

The ghost of the big perm will forever live where there is deep snow and powdersurfing to be had.


I built a little jump that was lit well by the moonlight but not enough to make the video very clear. The photos worked OK but I need to buy some slave flashes to make it really work how I want.


This shot didn’t really work. I need some flashes to make it happen. The one in my hand didn’t quite cut it.


Moonlight Powdersurfing at the Beavis!

Beaver Mountain – First Descent – Powdersurfing in the moonlight


I nailed the first descent down the backside of the beavis on a powdersurf last night under the almost full moon. Pretty epic conditions and super fun. I was up night riding with all the Jensen boys (my dad, brothers, and nephews) at beaver mountain and we were milking cotton tail (in the dark) for pow slashers and butters. It was pretty fun- my nephews are getting really good at shredding and they kept up well. I was able to milk a backside run before it got totally dark. I walked out the spring road and dropped the mini pillow sector. It was hella good- The beavis is at the stage where there are still features to jump off of due to a low tide. It was surprisingly good although it took me a while to hitch hike back.

At the end of the night I milked one more lap and dropped the same run on my powsurf. Definitely worth the 10 dollar ticket.
The Jensen gang- we will crush you.
Left to right: Jeremy, Brennan, Matt, Jordan, Jake, Dennis, Ben, and Christian.
My dad rips. He has been shredding longer than I have (and longer than you too). He hasn’t touched his skis in 20+ years.


As far as I know, I nailed the first descent of the Beav on a snowskate (10 or so years ago), first descent of Beaver’s backside on a snowskate, first bindingless (noboard) descent of the backside (11 years ago), first descent of the Beav’s frontside on a powdersurf board and first backside on the powsurf. ..not bad considering bindingless boards are not allowed on the mountain. Hopefully one day they will reconsider.

Moonlight Powdersurfing at the Beavis!

Beaver Mountain – First Descent – Powdersurfing in the moonlight


I nailed the first descent down the backside of the beavis on a powdersurf last night under the almost full moon. Pretty epic conditions and super fun. I was up night riding with all the Jensen boys (my dad, brothers, and nephews) at beaver mountain and we were milking cotton tail (in the dark) for pow slashers and butters. It was pretty fun- my nephews are getting really good at shredding and they kept up well. I was able to milk a backside run before it got totally dark. I walked out the spring road and dropped the mini pillow sector. It was hella good- The beavis is at the stage where there are still features to jump off of due to a low tide. It was surprisingly good although it took me a while to hitch hike back.

At the end of the night I milked one more lap and dropped the same run on my powsurf. Definitely worth the 10 dollar ticket.
The Jensen gang- we will crush you.
Left to right: Jeremy, Brennan, Matt, Jordan, Jake, Dennis, Ben, and Christian.
My dad rips. He has been shredding longer than I have (and longer than you too). He hasn’t touched his skis in 20+ years.


As far as I know, I nailed the first descent of the Beav on a snowskate (10 or so years ago), first descent of Beaver’s backside on a snowskate, first bindingless (noboard) descent of the backside (11 years ago), first descent of the Beav’s frontside on a powdersurf board and first backside on the powsurf. ..not bad considering bindingless boards are not allowed on the mountain. Hopefully one day they will reconsider.

7 feet in 7 days….

I finally dropped in on the Season Pass to Snowbird. I think I already got my money’s worth these past 3 days.

Smellie and I showed up saturday morning to 2 feet or more of the super light and dry Utah pow. Such a sick day. Met up with a bunch of the ol homies …. it felt like the first day of school- seeing all the familiar faces in their new gear…. cute.
Dave and I tore it up for a couple runs before meeting up with some friends from Jackson. Willie McMillon, Mark Carter, Nic Drago, John Makens, Kurt Wastell, Travis Rice, Circe Wallace……. and more. It was pretty ill riding with such a sick crew of snowboard legends. We sprocked our way from the “house” to Daltons hitting every booter and drop in sight. It’s not always rad being the 1oth dude off of a hit but it was worth it riding with these dudes. We spun a couple laps with those guys and decided to move on to a smaller crew of 2 or 3 to maximize pow slashing. Before that Travis hopped on the lift with us to talk “powdersurf”. I was a little thrown off guard sitting on the lift next to the greatest shredder on earth but I managed to not just drool all over myself and I got his contact info to get him some boards. I hooked up with him 2 days later after the comp was over and well…. lets just say Travis Rice is on the Grassroots Powdersurf R&D team… how $#@&ing sick is that?
Saturday was epic- so sunday was next. It dumped all night (another 2 feet) and the canyon road was closed due to a couple of avalanches that hit the road. Ham and I waited in line for an hour or so as the line finally started moving. We were about 30 cars back when they shut it down again. Soooooo bummed. An avalanche had caught and carried 3 Alta patrollers so they shut the canyon down again. Rather than sit in our car for another 2 hours we scoped some areas to ride powdersurfs up above the mansions in the lower canyon.
This was Ham’s first time on the powsurf and the conditions were pretty much 5 inches of dust on bumpy crust. Needless to say Ham kind of struggled and so did I- but it was pretty damn fun anyways. We shredded til we saw the road open back up and away we rolled.

Hamgod with Powdersurf – ready to get some.
Check the Video at the bottom of the post for some weak action!

7 feet in 7 days….

I finally dropped in on the Season Pass to Snowbird. I think I already got my money’s worth these past 3 days.

Smellie and I showed up saturday morning to 2 feet or more of the super light and dry Utah pow. Such a sick day. Met up with a bunch of the ol homies …. it felt like the first day of school- seeing all the familiar faces in their new gear…. cute.
Dave and I tore it up for a couple runs before meeting up with some friends from Jackson. Willie McMillon, Mark Carter, Nic Drago, John Makens, Kurt Wastell, Travis Rice, Circe Wallace……. and more. It was pretty ill riding with such a sick crew of snowboard legends. We sprocked our way from the “house” to Daltons hitting every booter and drop in sight. It’s not always rad being the 1oth dude off of a hit but it was worth it riding with these dudes. We spun a couple laps with those guys and decided to move on to a smaller crew of 2 or 3 to maximize pow slashing. Before that Travis hopped on the lift with us to talk “powdersurf”. I was a little thrown off guard sitting on the lift next to the greatest shredder on earth but I managed to not just drool all over myself and I got his contact info to get him some boards. I hooked up with him 2 days later after the comp was over and well…. lets just say Travis Rice is on the Grassroots Powdersurf R&D team… how $#@&ing sick is that?
Saturday was epic- so sunday was next. It dumped all night (another 2 feet) and the canyon road was closed due to a couple of avalanches that hit the road. Ham and I waited in line for an hour or so as the line finally started moving. We were about 30 cars back when they shut it down again. Soooooo bummed. An avalanche had caught and carried 3 Alta patrollers so they shut the canyon down again. Rather than sit in our car for another 2 hours we scoped some areas to ride powdersurfs up above the mansions in the lower canyon.
This was Ham’s first time on the powsurf and the conditions were pretty much 5 inches of dust on bumpy crust. Needless to say Ham kind of struggled and so did I- but it was pretty damn fun anyways. We shredded til we saw the road open back up and away we rolled.

Hamgod with Powdersurf – ready to get some.
Check the Video at the bottom of the post for some weak action!

Jackson Hole Snowboarder Mag Release Party

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I am not going to disclose the location here cause it is too sacred. We will just say it’s somewhere in Idaho or Wyoming or something. Dunker and I slayed it up here for 2 days. The Avy danger was super high so we kept it chill on the powsurfs. Found some really fun lines. One in particular was loaded with mini kickers- so much fun on the powdersurf boards. We were passing over fresh 4 foot slides and glide cracks. It was pretty nerve racking and it kept us humble on our line choices.
There is so much potential up here and never a skier or snowboarder in sight. I have seen some of my favorite zones raped by “professional” film crews in the snowboard and ski industry. They hype it up and disclose the location to da masses (did I just say dumbasses?!) and I am over that crap. Thanks a lot mormon mafia (you know who you are) – you suck. Anyways… I am not going to let that happen to this zone.

BONUS!
I met snowboard artist (and legend) Mike Parillo at the Mag Release party. I was a little bit star struck I must admit. This guy’s artwork has had a huge influence on me throughout the years. It was so rad to see his OG paintings in their glory. Whenever I am painting my powsurfers I am thinking about this guys work. My kindergarten art doesn’t touch what this guy does. I really want to get involved with him in the future if things work out.
 

Mike Parillo – Original artwork for Travis Rice’s Pro Models
Mike Parillo and Travis Rice’s Studio for Asymbol


 Parillo doing what he does.
Dunker needed to make a huge print for an up coming art show. This was his first test print. Pretty amazing.
This is a reproduction of the Craig Kelly Tribute mural. Mike said the original had been vandalized so this was the reproduced inkjet print. 3×5 feet or so.
Brother Ali on the mic!!! This show was amazing- such a rad vibe.
 
Not only did I get to chill with Mike Parillo but Travis Rice showed up and kicked it for an hour or so. Travis is the greatest snowboarder in the world…. do I need to say more?
Mike and Travis seemed pretty stoked on the Powdersurf boards. I am working on a couple to send up their way. Hopefully they can provide some R&D and maybe some connections in the industry… Most of all- I want Parillo to paint one.. That dude has unreal skills.
Brother Ali was super rad. He freestyled back in forth with Justin Timberlake (yes, the backstreet boy) and it was insane!
I can’t wait to back and ride the Village when it starts dumping. Jackson is always a good time.

Milking it in January – Getting out of the toxic depression cloud

It hasn’t snowed for weeks- the resort here has about a 25 inch base and our backcountry zones are sitting at about 45 inches of base- pretty poor for the middle of January. I have been getting out as often as I would otherwise and milking what snow we do have. Just getting out of the giant shit cloud created by pollution and inversion is worth the trip. It has actually been really fun. The powsurfing has been epic and opens up a whole new world of possibilities.

This weekend I tested out my ptex deck. It lasted a few drops and 360 shovit attempts and finally blew up on a kickflip. The bond between the ink and the mylar failed and the whole sheet came flying off. I was bummed – but the ink tranfered itself onto the ptex and was left mostly intact. So I am putting back on the deck and it should actually work out fine in the long run. I have to figure out a different solution for the base graphics.
I tested out 4 new powdersurf boards this weekend with pretty good results. The foamy was pretty good but the snow was a little variable so it was tough to make a good judgement on performance. The “fillet” handled pretty sweet. The flex made it carve like a snowboard and the skinnier shape actually worked great in the variable snow conditions. The 4ply skate deck was bomber but a little heavier than I would prefer. I stomped a few bs180s and kickflips on it that made my day. We ran some mini-golf lines and got some goods above the campground that were fun. The next day I did a solo trip and stuck some good surf shots on jumps, drops and picnic tables.

Powdersurf Construction – Manville, Utah

WELCOME TO MANVILLE – This is where the Powdersurf Board magic happens.

Manville, Utah- This is where many good things are happening right now. Shapes are designed and created, construction methods are tested, there is blood, sweat and tears flowing here on almost a daily basis (despite sub zero temperatures).
The shark is born. November 2009 – Manville, USA
Literally hours of hand sanding…. makes for major sawdust boogers.

Craig working on some new experimental construction. Super strength and alien lightness.

 Checking the rocker on the new PowSkate Model.

There is really only enough room in here for me and a few powdersurf boards.

My fingers are bleeding by the time I get this stuff cutout. Worth it? Yes.