Globe and Mail Article on Grassroots Powsurfing

Super hyped on getting the call from The Globe & Mail; Canada’s National newspaper.  They had seen the films and heard of this thing called “powsurfing”, and they wanted to know more.  So we dished the beta and donated some photos for the cause. The article included a couple of other companies perspectives and quotes. (powsurfing is sooo hot right now! (sarcasm…well sort of)) Interesting to see how many people are quickly hopping on the bandwagon. It serves as a testament to how much fun this powsurfing thing really is. It was funny to see some people comment on the article and say “that’s just noboarding”, while others could see the clear distinction and difference. The people who get it, obviously get it.. and those who don’t probably never will.

Nice article and an awesome opportunity to give the masses a glimpse into what it is we love to do.  Pretty rad that it came out on the winter solstice as well!

Below is the link to the article online:

Check it  POWDER PLAY – GLOBE AND MAIL December 21st 2012

Boom! Grassroots on the front page of Canada’s National Newspaper

CBC TV Interview with Scotty Arnold

Out of nowhere came an email from the Canadian National Television station wanting to do a story on Powsurfing.  They said they couldn’t send a cameraman down to Utah and needed someone in the Whistler area to do the interview.  As luck(?) would have it, Scotty Arnold and I just happened to be in the Whistler area at the time!  I’ve only been to Canada twice in my life and this was a pretty crazy coincidence.  I knew it had to be done so we set aside a day of our trip to do some PR work.

CBC TV with Scotty Arnold

Bob Nixon, Scotty Arnold, and Simon ready for action

Avalanche conditions were high with a fresh couple of feet on top of a deep layer of surface hoar. We weren’t about to take a TV crew deep into the backcountry and put them and ourselves at risk.  We had to settle for some very low angle slopes completely out of harms way.  All the obvious signs of fresh wind slabs breaking everywhere, cracking, collapsing, etc confirmed our decision.  On the approach to a relatively small but steep slope we remotely triggered numerous fresh slides that were a few inches deep, two steps later while crossing a creek the snow cracked loudly, breaking 4 feet deep and sending me into the creek bed below.  One knee and one arm plunged into knee deep icy water. That sealed the deal and we relocated to another zone, very low angle and out of the way of any hang-fire.

CBC TV Interview with Scotty Arnold

The TV crew interviewed myself and Scotty Arnold about the history, the how, and the why.  Really good interviews that kind of ended up butchered in the end, but so goes the mainstream tv world.  The action shots were very mellow due to the sketchy conditions that day. We hiked a couple of short low angle lines and jumped off some small drops for their cameras and called it a day.  Not the most epic day by any means but good for the PR machine. We were just stoked on the opportunity to spread the word about what we love to do and help Grassroots continue to grow.

Luckily we found a couple of little drops out of harms way for the TV crew

Watch the Interview and check the story below:

Interview with Jeremy Jensen about the freedom of powdersurfing:

http://www.cbc.ca/video/watch/News/Canada/BC/ID=2324239337

English Channel Story : “Powder-surfing pioneers seek freedom in a new sport”

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/story/2013/01/09/bc-powder-surfing.html

 

Facefulls of fun

The Powsurf Chronicles Episode 5 – Facefulls Of Fun

Kickback, watch the snow ripple and feel the powder blast you in the face.  Here’s a quick episode from an early season day in the Utah Backcountry. Enjoy it… we sure did.

Watch on Vimeo or Youtube

 

Jeremy Jensen Ollies his Grassroots Powsurfer in the Utah Backcountry.

While some of the world hunkered down to prepare for armageddon, the Grassroots crew headed into the hills to celebrate the solstice the best we know how, by enjoying life to the fullest.  A fresh couple of feet had fallen over the past couple of days and the skies turned blue for us.  The shortest day of the year brings seriously epic light on a bluebird day.. long shadows and cold smoke conditions made this one extra special.

The new Powsurf Compatible Cheetah Racks are absolutely bomber. So hyped on this setup!

Mike Lane, a good friend from back in the day was in town from Santa Cruz.  Lane has been surfing non-stop out there for a few years now and he was back to test his skills on the snow.  Lane slayed the steeps and threw in a few good ollies in the process.

Clack! Mike Lane popping ollies in the Utah duff.

 

Lane with a pow-eating grin.

Powsurf Slash

Lane only had a couple of powsurfing days under his belt but he ripped it like a veteran.  There was no second guessing or hesitation when we hit the steeper slopes, just fearless charging and big smiles at the bottom.  While the snowpack was relatively shallow, there is no complaining about fresh cold smoke on a bluebird day.  We seized the day and made the most of what we had to work with, slashing every slash in sight, and popping every fun button.  We milked every last bit of sunlight and left stoked.   So hyped on a new season of exploring possibilities and celebrating a new take on a familiar past time. Happy Solstice!

Jeremy Jensen lining up a couple of ollies.

Powder 8’s on the sled are always fun.

Jeremy Jensen, JJ Thomas, and Scotty Arnold about to surf some powder.

Jeremy Jensen, JJ Thomas, and Scotty Arnold ready for action in the PC neighborhood backcountry

After a few big hammer pow days in the backcountry it was time for a mellow day.  I linked up with Scotty Arnold and JJ Thomas in Park City to check out a rad little surf zone that JJ’s girl had found for us. Beth Anne has a good eye for powsurf zones!  The snow was shallow but we made the most of it and had a killer time slashing the gauntlet for a few runs and seshing the mini catwalk hits.

 

The 6 inch crusty “base” and 5 inches of fluf on top was pretty challenging but that’s all part of the fun of powsurfing.  JJ and I rode the Powder Sluts and Scotty tried out the Bullet 140, a great board for riding shallow pow. We burned a couple quick laps and that pretty much tracked up the skinny guantlet run.  Stoked for that thing to fill in so we can give it a proper slashing another time.

JJ had to roll out and take care of his lady…birthday celebrations the previous night were taking their toll on the poor girl.  She was a trooper, guiding us to the zone and snapping some pics along the way. Big thanks Beth Anne!

Scotty and I poked around for some bumps to pop off of. We found a little catwalk trail that kept us busy for a couple of hours.  Simple pleasures!!

Shuvits were popped, and kickflips were kicked and stomped.

It was so much fun riding with these boys. So rad to see people just pick up powsurfing and start killing it..even in sketchy conditions.  Big smiles and big fun.  Thats what it’s all about.

Kickfliping into shallow tracked up pow is not easy. Somehow I rode away clean on this one.

Scotty finding a deep (relatively) spot!

Turns out JJ snowboards goofy footed and powsurfs regular footed. The man has skills!

Scotty popped a big ollie and stomped a solid pop shuv after just a few tries.  The kickflip was next and he was determined to ride out clean.  He landed bolts numerous times and rode a couple out for a few feet.  Landing on ice and dirt is not easy.  The skills and determination that this guy has are gonna continue to blow minds for years in both snowboarding and powsurfing.  So stoked to have Scotty on board.

This kids’ got pop!

We are stoked to have the support of more and more shops around the world.  Salty Peaks has been a leading retailer in the industry for decades and we are proud to have our products on the shelves and in the museum.  Check the Salty Peaks interview with Jeremy Jensen (founder/owner) of Grassroots Powdersurfing, pics and videos here!

http://www.saltypeaks.com/blog/2012/12/grassroots-powdersurfing-freeriding-never-felt-so-free.html

 

Bryan Iguchi on Grassroots Powsurfer

Bryan Iguchi can hold his own on any board.  He kills it when it comes to snowboarding, skateboarding, surfing, and of course… powdersurfing.  The man is a straight up legend on so many fronts.  We are stoked to have Bryan backing our boards!  Peep this quick run in the JH backcountry with The Guch and check his blog post here.

pow surf 20122912 from bryan iguchi on Vimeo.

“Treeline” is a Backcountry.com project dedicated to bringing you an elevated perspective—spotlighting the designers and craftsmen whose passion evolves the outdoor lifestyle. Grassroots Powdersurfing is stoked and proud to be working with Backcounty.com.  They have supported us since our early days years ago and this means a lot to us. Big props to them for believing in what we do. Click here to check out the Backcoutnry Treeline Project.  Check out the feature on Grassroots Powdersurfing below. Click Images to view full size.

 

 

 

 

 

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Thanks!

Grassroots Powdersurfing Staff.

Newborn Snowskate Magazine is born! This new magazine out features snowskating and all types of binding-free snow riding. Newborn is packed full of great imagery, artwork, interviews, product reviews and more. We are proud to be a part of issue #2.  Below is an interview with Jeremy Jensen, creator and owner of Grassroots Powdersurfing.

Click on images to view full size.