Another winter is well on its way and luckily things are new and fresh again. Snowskating has always had this feeling to it where you just weren’t sure what’s around the next corner. Obviously with a new sport you really don’t know where it will go. This mystery is what attracted me to snowskating.
Early on the goal was to reuse old snowboards and be able to stand up for most of the run. Just the fact that you could go down hill without bindings was enough to make me hike back up for another run.
I had no idea what would make a good snowskate so I tried to make them really pretty using my woodworking skills. If they looked beautiful then maybe people wouldn’t question whether or not they actually worked.
I fought the direction that most snowskates were going in. Small skateboard-like sizes to me seemed like I would be stuck in the parking lot. Of course I had never really tried a small skate so my opinion of them was totally wrong. At one point I realized that if I could control a massive snowskate and a small snowskate then what about all the sizes in-between? This was when the skilsaw came out. I had visions of trolling yard sales to score old snowboards for cheap then cut them down to size and re-sell them for a nice profit. I still have that same stack of cut down snowboards that have never touched snow.
Luckily Adam at FPS did the hardwork for me and I felt like the time spent cutting down old snowboards was wasted time.
Riding big powder skates you immediately hone in on the conditions that will make them fun. Big long groomers just aren’t very enjoyable on powder skates so you become fixated on untracked terrain.
At first building my own subs seemed like a monumental task. I was afraid of the mistakes that it would take to accomplish my goals. But after the first crappy skate I was hooked.
Just heading up to the mountain with a new prototype that offered answers to my many questions was enough to power me through the inevitable let down and remorse that would come after riding it. There will always be mistakes and those mistakes will direct your future designs. The mistakes make the boards. Without them you would be directionless.
If you haven’t already noticed the snowskate community is made up of riders and builders. In some areas the builders outnumber the non builders. Making attempts at snowskate innovation is part of the sport. Those attracted early on need a hand in the direction. This helps everyone I believe because there is a constant “sharing” of ideas. I know I would not have been inspired to make changes to my skates if it were not for FPS, Ralston, Lib, Starfish, Circuit and Grassroots to name a few.
So here we are, in the winter of 2013 with skates that still resemble my original attempts made eight years ago. The goal is still the same to stand up for most of the run.
Our conditions have been nothing short of amazing considering how the rest of the country is fairing. Not that we are getting huge dumps but when Utah and Tahoe are still bare, 6” feels deep. I don’t preach as much as I used to about WHY you should snowskate. I think you should do what ever gets you stoked. But for me,(preaching) riding with my kids on a snowskate is way more fun then other options. I think it keeps us on the same level and I’m able to help them out if they have trouble with their gear which always seems happens. It started with the massive laps we used to do on the bunny hill, which on a skate feels more like intermediate and now I find that taking my sons into the backcountry on a skate is kinda the same. We aren’t hitting extreme terrain just fun little pow fields. When they get stuck or need a break from carrying their gear its so easy to help out when your not strapped down. Anyways here’s another short vid of the Igloo zone. Cole is the one launching.
Jeff from Boise called me a few weeks ago with the heads up about this little event called Maidenboise. Its a memorial to a good friend of theirs that passed away several years ago. The usually head up to a place called snowbank and build a huge quarter pipe, camp and hang out with friends. This year though the authorities said no way and the event was quickly moved to Brundage mountain resort. They just kinda showed up in mass and pleaded with the resort manager to let them camp and hike the snow fields. Amazingly enough the manager said ok.
The snow was pretty damm good for memorial weekend and while it had rained in the parking lot we wanted to head up to the top to look for fresh snow.
About three quarters of the way up we found a pile of snow. With a bit of work it kinda resembled a quarter pipe with a big gapping hole in it.
Big John goes over.
Jeff gives it a try.
Clarke makes it around.
We hiked to the top and got some pretty fun turns in the slushy 1″ that fell the night before. By the time we got back down to the event site they had constructed a little quarter pipe. Clarke put together a couple of nice tricks on it.
Clarke hit a bunch of great lines and in the end won the event, which made the five or so snowskaters pretty damm proud. Thanks to Cory, Mac and all the other sponsers for inviting us down and putting on a great jam.
Got a lot of pictures and video to go through. It was a huge weekend with lots of powder and concrete and its going to take a bit of time to go through. I promise to have it up before I take off on Thursday so I guess that means I better get it done on Wed night. Probably the best snowskate jam to date.
We had a great trip and I’ve tried to take lots of crappy pictures and video. I still need to sort through it all but expect a full trip report by Friday. In the meantime here are a couple of pictures.
Jeff picking his line
Graham sending this drop. He landed at the bottom of the frame. I have some video of this hit that I’ll post too.
I headed back to Tamarack on Sunday to meet up with the boise crew. Jeff had spread the word but was unsure how many would actually make the trek. I was blown away when I finally met up with the SIX of them, that’s kind of a record. It took some driving around to find a place to park and even longer to actually get the snowmobiles started, well to get one of them started. Somehow it was decided that I would get the first ride up with two snowskates, the 152 and 158. It was a short trip up to the mid mountain lodge. The snowmobiles had been busy and much of the terrain was tracked up. There were still lots of turns to be had though on the sides of the runs. The sled dropped me off and returned to shuttle more riders. At the lodge there were a handful of guys with snowmobiles trying to get a plan together to build a jump somewhere. Standing amoungst them with the pow skates was a bit awkward. A couple asked a few questions but none seemed too interested. I grabbed the 158, which I had just set up the night before, and headed up the side of the run for some turns. The 158 is the biggest powderskate on the market and I had only ridden that size one time last year.
The powder was deep and light so in all actuality you probably could have ridden a kayak down the mountain and had fun. I hike three different lines trying to find the best place for all of us to session. The snow was amazing and by the time the others arrived on TWO sleds with more powskates, I was confident that the day would be epic. I had planned on giving a big explanation and a bunch of tips on powderskating but in the end I just handed them the skates and pointed up. I don’t think anyone even fell the first run or the second for that matter. I tried to take some pics but usually was just hooting and hollering every time the blew past. We spent the day making laps and it was perfect. Towards the end of the day I ran into a couple of the guys who were on the jump-building expedition. I asked if they got any good turns in and the guy replied that no, they had spent the day trying to find a spot to build on and it just hadn’t panned out, too bad, there was lots of good powderskating turns to be had.
See what I mean, I’m not very good at getting action shots.
Jeff had brought his Lib 48 and it floated as long as you kept the nose up.
Spending the holidays in Mc Call, Idaho. Yesterday I hiked Tamarack ski hill. Tamarack went bankrupt about two years ago. It was on path to becoming the next vail, (that’s what they thought anyways). It has a huge village that is almost completed. It won’t be finished anytime soon though as all construction was halted when the bankrupcy was filed. I hiked up about 1600 ft to the upper lodge which is also not finished. It looks done from a distace but when you get right up to it, things resemble a ghost town. It felt like being in some sort of sci fi flick where you are the only person left after some catastrophe. The quads were all there and the snow was sick but no people. The snow was really amazing, deep, light and fluffy. I was on the 125 cause down low it was 1″ of dust on this nasty crust and I wanted something I could control in case it sucked all the way to the top. At about a quarter of the way up though it got really good. The 125 got me throught the deep stuff as long as I kept my speed up. On some of the steeper rollers it was absolutely amazing. Looks like I’ll be going back on Sunday with a few Boise guys and some sleds to hit the area again. I’ll have the big boards this time and the camera too for verification. Anyways happy holidays, here’s a Xmas pic of the 36″ top deck and 45″ sub.
So the last three days delivered around 20” inches of snow to the resort. Last night it got kinda warm so the conditions were light snow under a heavy layer of wet stuff. Headed up first thing in the morning to catch the opening of the triple chair into south bowls. The chair had been closed during the entire storm so all the terrain around it would be untracked. I grabbed the 125 FPS first thinking that the snow had consolidated and I wouldn’t be sinking that much. At first on the steep stuff it seemed like the right choice but about half way down the south bowl where its not as steep and the temps were a bit warmer I had to straight line it just to get out. Back to the lodge for a board change. The 152 has a fat tail that will float pretty much everything but it does take a lot more leverage to carve on groomers. When I do take it out for resort riding its usually after big dumps where I won’t be spending much time on groomers. That’s where the 151 has a big advantage, it can handle groomers and hardpack easily, really easily so riding between stashes is easy and fun. Yesterday’s snow was heavy though and a real work out and the area we were riding was perfect for the 152 and riding was a breeze. Cole had his 151 and on the upper steeper section he was killing it but on the lower section where the snow was much heavier it was a bit harder. Not as tricky as the 125 but still you had to keep your weight forward to keep the tail from sinking. If the tail sank you slowed down and stopped, which meant possibly falling off your board and getting snow all over the grip and basically just wearing you out. Getting back up onto your board in deep powder takes some effort so you wanted to avoid that at all costs. You’ll notice the snow build up on the grip in the pic. Yea, heavy high moisture content snow sticks to it.
I had my leash break for the first time and just happened to be right in front of the patrol. Please remember to always check you equipment and leash for edge cuts and loose knots, a snow laden powder skate weighs a lot and can bust a simple cord! Only use webbing dog leashes or the hard core coil leashes. We don’t want run away skates period. Trust me even if it just goes into the trees you will either loose it or at a minimum have a HUGE hike down the hill.
Been super busy in the shop with decks, subs and trucks plus the holidays just around the corner. Sent off a big stack to Adam, a board going to barontieri today and 23″ of fresh (heavy) pow at the mountain. Meeting Cole at 8:00 for some early tracks. As always I’m wondering 125 or 152. Would be nice to have a 151 for days like today. Bringing snowshoes and poles in case we need to duck a rope for the backcountry. Even when the mountain has a bunch of new snow the allure of untracked is powerful. Hopefully some pics for tomorrow.
