First Day of the New Season! – October 27, 2010

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Oh Magog.

Nearly two feet of snow had fallen over the past few days and I was itching to get out. I had crushed my foot while moving a big boulder out of the landing of one of our jumps the day before the storm hit and my foot was swollen and in a lot of pain, but I really had to get out and slash some pow.

All the homies in town were stuck at work so Storm-dog and I had our own session. The snowpack was pretty damn good for this early in the season. We are pretty limited to the grassy slopes this time of year, so we made the most of it- Jumping the little bumps and mini rollers and slashing as much pow as possible on a couple of different powdersurf boards.
The powsurf quiver for today..

Storm is getting older and slowing down a bit, but he’s still loving fresh pow

I was quickly reminded of how damn fun it is to ride these silly boards. Gotta love the simple pleasures in life.

Self portrait slasher

My mind gets board with no one to talk to up in the hills so I decided to take some photos and video of the day. Since my dog cannot operate a camera, I had to do it all myself. The action still shots didn’t work out so great but I managed to get a couple of shots that were ok. The video turned out pretty good though…



Check it:

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Berfday Shredding

The first day shredding as a 34 year old was a pretty good one. It started off as a semi-cloudy day over in the mini-golf sector. Dunker, Grings, and I arrived at the top (we were doing the triple tow-up) ready to kill it. I dropped in and headed straight for “Bill” (a cliff that we like to hit). “Bill” was actually bigger than I have ever seen it and the take-off was lookin good from the bottom so I charged straight for it and stuck a BS 360 indy off it just to prove to myself that I wasn’t “too old”. We took one more run at minigolf as the clouds and snow moved in. We moved our base camp over to the White Pine Woods and proceeded to slash the hell out of that zone on my powsurf boards. I took a couple runs on Dunkers bindingless “Banana hammock” – it was fun but not as fun as riding my powsurf boards. I experimented with my Canon 7D on a monopod getting some POV action. It turned out pretty sick. Peep the video below for some action…

After 4-5 bindingless runs we decided to strap back into our snowboards and proceed to slash more pow.
Good friends and good snow… that’s all I really wanted for my Birthday.
Peep the footy:

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Berfday Shredding

The first day shredding as a 34 year old was a pretty good one. It started off as a semi-cloudy day over in the mini-golf sector. Dunker, Grings, and I arrived at the top (we were doing the triple tow-up) ready to kill it. I dropped in and headed straight for “Bill” (a cliff that we like to hit). “Bill” was actually bigger than I have ever seen it and the take-off was lookin good from the bottom so I charged straight for it and stuck a BS 360 indy off it just to prove to myself that I wasn’t “too old”. We took one more run at minigolf as the clouds and snow moved in. We moved our base camp over to the White Pine Woods and proceeded to slash the hell out of that zone on my powsurf boards. I took a couple runs on Dunkers bindingless “Banana hammock” – it was fun but not as fun as riding my powsurf boards. I experimented with my Canon 7D on a monopod getting some POV action. It turned out pretty sick. Peep the video below for some action…

After 4-5 bindingless runs we decided to strap back into our snowboards and proceed to slash more pow.
Good friends and good snow… that’s all I really wanted for my Birthday.
Peep the footy:

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Powdersurf Split-Board

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Behold the first ever powdersurf split-board

I finally finished my first (and possibly the world’s first) split Powdersurf board. I can’t wait to try this bad boy out. Hippies will be tripping balls when they see me blow by them on this little unit.



The wife was not stoked on this mess.
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Grassroots Powdersurfing


Will Powdersurfing change the world? Maybe… Will it replace snowboarding? No. Does it make you feel like a little kid when you do it? Yes. Is it incredibly fun? Yes. Is it here to stay? Hell yes.

I am proud to be a part of nurturing this new sport and helping push the possibilities. I think that we have something truly unique here that may help shape the future of winter board sports. In my opinion, the advantages our boards offer over existing bindingless snowsliders is unique and completely legit. Our audience is somewhat limited to those with access to powder – but the possibilities for progression are endless.
Introducing “Grassroots Powdersurfing”. A line of powdersurf boards for all types of riders. This is NOT “noboarding”, this is not “snowskating”… it is “Powdersurfing”. A unique sport heavily influenced by snowboarding, skateboarding, and surfing.
All who have tried these boards are instantly hooked. And for good reason. There is so much fun to be had and so many possibilities.
I will be updating this blog as often as I can and will be linking to a previous blog containing Powdersurf related entries that I have logged over the past 3 years. I have poured countless hours into creating the best boards I can with my resources. Countless hours documenting adventures with photo and video. Blood, sweat, tears, time, and money sacrificed to try to make this into something we can share with like-minded people.


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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…

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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…

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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.


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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.

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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.

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