Tag Archive for: powderskate

Classic Wood Powsurfers

Many of these babies were actually handcrafted over a year ago and they were just too beautiful to let go.  I am a bit of a hoarder when it comes to powsurfers, my house and walls are littered with them. It drives my wife absolutely crazy. Fortunately she sees the long hours and sleepless nights that I pour into this passion and she recognizes the unstoppable drive I have to get outside and rip as much pow as humanly possible. It obviously makes me happy and it is part of who I am so she puts up with it.

Sometimes I feel that I get carried away with designing and building things to be as functional as possible; ptex bases, fully gripped topsheets with deep concave, shapes based on performance rather than just aesthetics, etc.  I want the boards I make to ride as good as possible, or else the experience is compromised.  I feel the experience is really what it is all about, more so than how “cool” the board looks. I work to blend the two, but often times my mind chooses function over fashion.

So I decided to take a break from my normal attitude and focus on making something beautiful as priority one, but still make it ride great so as not to disappoint the rider.  They may not be as fast and as durable as our ptex based boards but they are gorgeous.. so much so that you may not even want to ride them for fear of scratching them.  Whether they end up on your wall or under your feet, these boards will certainly turn heads and put smiles on faces.

Check out whats available on the Grassroots Wooden Classics Page. Each of these are one-of-a-kind, personally handcrafted and signed.  I hope the lucky few who pick these up enjoy them as much as I have.  (wiping tears)

Classic Wood Powsurfers

Designed and handcrafted in Logan, Utah by Jeremy Jensen

Grassroots Powsurfers 2014 Models

We’ve been having so much fun riding these shapes that we started to feel guilty keeping them all to ourselves. So 2013-14 is your lucky season! We are stoked to make these unique shapes available to the rest of the powsurfing community. Each board was designed and shaped by Jeremy Jensen and they handmade with care, one at a time in a tiny garage in Logan, Utah.  Their sex appeal goes beyond just aesthetics, they back it up with performance.

We are offering an number of different graphic & shape combinations so click here to pick out your next ride or contact us to inquire about a combination that is not listed.

Specialty Powsurfers

Grassroots Specialty Powsurfers

Grassroots Powderslut

We couldn’t be more stoked on the new graphics for this season’s boards.  We have collaborated with some brilliant artists in the US and Canada to give this year’s powsurfers a great new look.  The “stock” line consists of our best selling shapes that we have offered over the years.  The Powder Skate Twin, the Slasher, the Powder Shark, and our best selling model- the Powder Slut.

Check the 2014 Stock Powsurfers

Grassroots Powder SkateGrassroots SlasherGrassroots PowderslutGrassroots Powder Shark

THE ARTISTS:

Colby Eubanks airbrushed the Powder Skate graphic back in 2000 on one of my skateboards. It was so fitting for the “Powder Skate” model that I had to bring it back.

Jordan Nielsen is an LA based artist who created the “Slasher” and the “Powder Shark” graphics. Jordan’s creates some great illustrations and design work and is currently working his dream job designing Vans shoes.

Vanessa Stark is responsible for the graphic on this year’s “Powder Slut”. Vanessa lives in Pemberton BC and draws here inspiration from a healthy outdoor lifestyle. Aside from being a brilliant artist she is a full on ripper on the snow, a mother, and a damn good cook.
We are stoked and proud to have such talented people contributing to this years line of boards.

 

 

 

 

Mother nature hit the reset button

Just last week I was telling a friend that this years season came to an end sooner than any year that I can remember.  Well, it’s not over ’til mother nature says it is and she just decided to deliver nearly a foot and a half of pow to the nearby mountains here in Northern Utah.  When the low clouds cleared out on a lazy and rainy sunday afternoon my eyes lit up at the sight of some surprisingly thick white stuff in the upper foothills.  I checked the snotel data and it was reading cold temps and 12 inches of snow and counting!

I pulled out my gear and got on the phone to some friends.. I’m all about these bonus pow days and I would feel guilty if I didn’t seize the opportunity.  At first light the next morning I was on the road, the contrast of the green trees and hillsides covered in fresh white snow made for an awesome drive.  I left a bit earlier than the rest of the crew cause I know that May powder has a really short shelf life, and it turns to muck in a hurry.

CHECK THE QUICKIE VIDEO RE-CAP!

Rolling with a quiver for some late season R&D testing
First run of the day was the real deal.  Light and dry powder
Our powder turned into coastal style muck in less than an hour but still made for some great turns

There was practically no base under the new snow so navigation on the sleds was a bit tricky.  Luckily I had tried to go riding a couple of weeks ago so I knew where the remaining ribbons of snow were at.  I buzzed up to the top and managed to hike a couple of quick laps in the upper fields before anyone else arrived.  I could feel the snow getting thicker every run.  Any direct sun this time of year puts a quick damper on the powder slashing.  So when my friends arrived we sought out the most north-facing tree runs in the area and proceeded to throw around the powder and muck.

hucking some muck around on one of the Phish series boards
The B-line into the “G-spot” is a classic early season shot.. tight entry and high speed thru the apron. We were dealing with early season style coverage so this run was at the top of my hit list.
Grassroots Powsurfers dominate in the powder and the mush.   
DeJaVu – My powsurfing season started and ended in this exact spot.

As the day progressed snow quality plummeted.  Sunny spots became sticky and unrideable and the melting snow in the tree tops began raining down on the snow below.  That’s May powder for you… it doesn’t last long so you gotta be on time.   As a powsurfer, I couldn’t be happier.  Instead of ending on a sour note (last week we were stranded by rocks and dry ground) we got a late season bonus dump and the powsurf season ended in style.  It’s going to be a busy summer dialing in next years boards and accessories so I have a feeling that next winter will be here before we know it.

We stumbled upon this article by accident and much to our delight.  Getting love from the folks at ESPN was the last thing we expected, and getting love twice within a few months was pretty awesome. The dudes at ESPN obviously know whats up and we must be doing something right.  What we lack in money and connections, we make up with our passion and drive and it’s nice to see others recognize this.

Big thanks to the guys at ESPN for shining some light on us!

 

We got an nice double page spread published in Issue 3 of “SLOPE – The Snowskate Magazine” early
this winter.  Wooo hoo!  Congrats to Craig Stevenson for snapping the shot, Jeremy Jensen (myself) for dropping the bomb and props to mother nature for suppling a beautiful day in the Utah backcountry and a nice powder filled landing.

We would have loved to see a little write up in there on Grassroots Powdersurfing to go along with the shot that sticks out as one of the best in the mag… but we can’t complain.. We appreciate them contacting us and making us a part of this issue in one way or another.  Hopefully we can get some written content in there next time.

If you haven’t check out SLOPE Magazine I highly recommend it!  SLOPE is a European online magazine focusing on bindingless snow sports, good friends, and good times.   Bindingless riding is big in Europe and it’s only getting bigger.  These fellas are putting out a great looking E-zine every couple of months or so throughout the winter.

SLOPE Issue #3 can be viewed at http://issuu.com/slope-thesnowskatemag/docs/slope_mag_issue_3

Check out SLOPE at http://www.thesnowskatemag.com

The premier issue of Kronicle Magazine is out and Grassroots Powdersurfing is stoked to have some content in the magazine!  Check out the “Primal Pow”story for the goods!

When Kronicle Magazine contacted me about running a story on our boards I was stoked to say the least.  This would be the debut issue for a new magazine focused purely on backcountry snowboarding and I knew their readers would be the ideal audience for what we have created.
I supplied Kronicle and their writers with a grip of photos to choose from and a lengthy and detailed interview about powsurfing, our boards, and the direction we are headed.We were stoked to see my photos of Craig and I slaying pow on our Grassroots Powdersurfers in the finished article. The written content ended up blending us in with a couple of other companies that were building hand made custom snowboards (with bindings) so that was a little confusing.  Then there were the dreaded relations to “noboarding” in there.  No offense to “noboarding” but what we are doing is NOT noboarding. We are riding boards that were designed to be ridden without bindings and we are not using ropes to hold the boards to our feet. We are not just throwing a rubber pad and bungi cord on an old snowboard.. there is a huge difference!   With 75% of the photos being bindingless riding on our boards, It would have been nice to go into a little more detail about what sets Grassroots apart, but you don’t always get what you want.  Although the written article ended up to be mostly about these other companies, we are grateful for the coverage that what we did get and super stoked on the opportunity.  Big thanks is due to Mike Horn, Seth Lightcap, and Jesse Huffman!!  ..and Kronicle Magazine

I would highly suggest you ORDER A COPY NOW!


A peep at the spread.

I never thought I would have my photo in a mag next to Johan Olofsson!
I was pretty stoked to get published in a world wide mag both as a photographer and and athlete.   Technically, it was the second time I have had an action photo of myself published in a major magazine.  The first was a photo of me in the Northface Masters competition at Snowbird a few years back…kicking out a big method off of a cliff onto a bullet proof landing and of course the photo was labeled with someone else’s name… just my luck!   They didn’t even bother to correct their mistake.  Lame.
We were delighted for coverage in such a widely distributed magazine.  So much so that we bought our first ever add to run in the mag.  Cost was very high for a small company like myself.. hopefully that investment pays off down the road.
                                     Surely this add makes you want to buy a powsurfer right?

A nice little write up on Grassroots Powdersurfing in “Powder Propaganda” called “Surfing Powder…. Literally”

There are a few inaccurate lines in there, but what can you do.  It seems that many journalists don’t want to send out proofs before they publish.. but I think if they did things would work out better for everyone!

We appreciate the publicity nonetheless.

Check it..
http://powderpropaganda.wordpress.com/2011/12/03/62/

Ian and Neil posted this edit the other day.  I’m always stoked on the Provo Bros edits, no matter if they are skiing, snowboarding, fishing, or powdersurfing.  Good dudes doing what they love… I’m all about it. If anyone was wondering how our Grassroots Powdersurfers handle the deep and light pow in some steep lines, look no further (or of course stay tuned for the “Big Waves” episode in The Powsurf Chronicles).

Here you go.. Ian, Neil and friends slaying the deep on their 140cm Slasher and 140cm Powder Shark.
ENJOY!