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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.

It was definitely a good winter for the Pacific northwest. March alone brought in over ten feet of fresh snow and the first of April delivered one more powder punch. Strapless week even saw its final comp at Hurricane Ridge cancelled because of the snow. The first part of the week was epic though with deep powder days at both Crystal and Stevens. I’ve got a couple of pictures to post and some powder footage from the Schweitzer surroundings. We have over 200 inches at the summit so my guess is that the hiking season will stretch into June again. I’ve got some new ideas for next season and some solid product performances from this one. As always I’m excited about what’s next in the progression of big mountain lines and deep powder turns.

I know I will be spending some time refining this prototype. When the snow was deep this thing was amazing both at carving and landings.

Cole launched this thing a bunch before the snow disappeared and even pushed its limits in some not so perfect conditions. We learned a lot.

Its still about moving snow, chasing down turns and finding new terrain.

This video is from the backside of chair 1, fresh tracks off the front of Big Blue and first track on Big Timber in bounds plus some little clips. No YouTube sound track applied so if you have a favorite powder watching tune that is about 2:45 long cue it up.

We have been getting so much snow lately that it was time to make a bigger sub to handle deep conditions. With the current 145 you can go anywhere on the mountain and ride a ton of pow but when it starts getting over say 10-12 inches in a single day dump then it becomes harder if the terrain isn’t steep. I could go into the minute details of the bigger sub but lets just leave it at bigger or maybe puffier, hence its current nickname “puffy”. Here’s a close up shot of the bottom which is 3/4 of an inch wider then the current 145.

But with the extra width comes a loss of leverage which means that it takes more pressure to set the edge in a turn on groomers. In the powder of course the opposite is true, you ride higher in the snowpack and thus its easier to turn.

We had a great day off the backside of one. Hiked a couple of powder laps then went looking for some jumps. Found this snow covered tree first. It cracked as soon as Cole hit the lip.

Just below this was a road cut with a wind lip that we pat down.

Puffy handled great and will be the go to board for deep conditions which I hope continue.

We made an igloo in the back yard with our Ice box igloo maker last year. But the backcountry turns are a little fickle in the yard so this year we put it in a more turn friendly place. This spot is about 1/4 mile out of bounds and is at the top of a small mound with turns all the way around it. Seemed like a good location.

We packed it down with our snowshoes and leveled out a spot. The first row is the slowest and most important because it sets the angle of the dome.

The second row things get going a little faster cause the packer doesn’t have to be on his knees the whole time.

The snow was pure sugar, which makes a really strong block when you pack it carefully. The downside is it takes almost twice as long to build. With wet snow you can build an igloo in 2-3 hours. After 4 hours we still had the final top to do and the sun was setting so we had to leave it unfinished. I figure it still has about an hour of building time left. Will post a completed pic as soon as I can.

Ps: if you look right above Cole‘s head in the last picture you will se a tower on the hill in back. That is the resort boundary.

Well, its been awhile since my last post, but I’m back and at least for the first part of the winter will be posting weekly updates. Its been a pretty hectic month getting ready for the season. I think this is the most prepared I have ever been before the lifts have started. The new shop has been great and it has afforded me the luxury of a curing booth for the decks and subs. After pressing they all go into this 70 degree room for another 5 days to insure the epoxy cures completely.

Although the recycled graphics from the last few years was fun I’m glad to be rid of someone else’s logo on my stuff. This season we’re looking at white, with some soon to be added stickers.

The sliding truck plates are black but other then that I’m pretty much sticking with the same design. Three hole locations and two height options with a quick release pin.

Black and green grip for the tops, with a built up tail option available too.

The subs from last season worked great but there is always a tweak that can push them even further. I reworked both the 145 and 135 forms for the better. I most excited about the 135 with the slightly longer base and lower sweeps to the nose and tail. Always looking for that short board that will float deep pow. The new subs are in white.

One great thing about the Chiller shop is that there is a great testing zone in the back. Just need a bit more snow to soften those landings.

The shop is clicking right along but the website is badly in need of a product page and that is next on the agenda.  Expect more pics and prices next week.

Sorry about the lack of updates but this last month has been a whirlwind of big pow days, pressing decks and another epic road trip. After our last visit to the sawtooths I emailed Cory Smith at mtnapproach.com about his new approach skis that fold up small enough to fit in a pack.

Cory, who lives in Sun Valley and works at Smith Optics, checked out my post on the Sawtooths and extended an invite to come down for a few days of riding and filming at the Smith Optics private back country zone.  Well I may be busy with work and family stuff but a invite like this doesn’t come along very often and so I jumped at the chance. I got the ok to bring along a friend and Cole happened to be in the right place at the right time so he scored the second seat. Not sure what exactly was in store we loaded up the car and hit the road. All we knew was there would be another group of riders hitting some jumps and that me and Cole would be able to explore the zone and hopefully find some pow. We got into Smiley Creek late and found the bunkhouse, which was a really old two stories cabin that had been patched up just enough to keep the heat in. After introducing ourselves to the crew inside we found a spot on the floor to throw down our bags and go to sleep.

The next morning the crew was a little confused about what to do we us. We didn’t have our own sled and the snowcat with the crew cab wasn’t working. Luckily a few of the guys tandemed us up to the zone. Our first day was great, we were able to catch a couple of rides up the mountain from the crew and caught deep pow turns on the way down. They were all pretty busy scoping jumps and making sure they were ready if the sun peaked out so any rides we got we really appreciated. We even hiked a couple of laps too just cause the cat tracks were so easy to travel.  The next day we woke up to high winds and grey sky and every one in the bunkhouse was in no hurry to get going except us. Luckily we had left our skates at the yurt so they had to give us a ride up. Somehow it ended up just being Cole and I and two brand new sleds on loan from Ski-doo.

It was officially on!!! We rode non stop for the whole day, doing as many laps as we could. About half way through the day it even started dumping which really made it seem like we had stumbled upon a gold mine of opportunities.

All the terrain in this pic is part of the Smith Optics private reserve. With the help of the cat they have built tons of big hits into soft powder landings. All they needed was a little sunshine to make it all pay off.

The last morning brought blue skies and no extra sleds for us. This was okay seeing how our visit was pure luck in the first place and we were just thankful for the amazing two days we got. We packed up and headed home, stopping off briefly for a soak at a roadside hot springs. Big thanks goes out to Smith and Cory for letting us sneak in the back door of Prospecting Idaho, lets hope we can find a way to get back there next year.

The days leading up to the trip weren’t exactly showing promise and it wasn’t like the Sawtooths got dumped on while we were there, but  somehow we got lucky. Lets back up a bit first. This fall I sent out a bunch of emails to people who I thought might be into a backcountry powderskate trip outside of Stanley Idaho in the Sawtooth National Forest. We worked the calender around a bit until we found a weekend that fit everyone’s schedule then set the date, February 10-13. With the prediction of la nina it seemed we couldn’t go wrong and with the strong start of winter it felt like we were in the money. While many parts of the west were having great winters though, the central Idaho area wasn’t. There were reports of boiler plate slabs and depressed skies all over the sun valley/stanley area and it seemed like the trip might be a bust. I really had zero expectations and would have postponed if any of the original invitees would have pulled out.

Thankfully no one did and the van was loaded and departed from Sandpoint with Eric, Cole, Jordan and Katie.

Its about a 9 Hrs drive from my place so Thursday was dedicated to the highway. We had people coming from Logan Ut, Boise Id, southern California and Hood River for a total of ten powderskater/surfers and one telemarker.

Here’s a shot of the available quivers for the weekend. With the questionable snow people bought all their options.

Early Friday morning we got the sleds warmed up and a short recon from the cabin, which is located on Fisher Creek.  I had the topos for the area and had explored in the summer but had no idea what it had to offer with respect to powderskating. There had been a pretty big fire about 3 summers ago so my hope was that the tree riding or better yet, snag riding would be fun.

A short sled ride from the cabin put us in a great location for exploring.

The snow was looking soft and the higher we got the better it got.

After the first few runs our below average expectations evaporated. The snow was great and we had three days to do as much damage as we could.

On our last day we spent the first part of the morning riding each others’ boards on this really fun cornice. In the background you can see the bowls that we spent most of our time in.

Jeff built a jump with no run in right off the bat, then had people fling him at it. He stuck it and ripped turns to the bottom.

Jeremy was next with a shovit.

There were plenty of boards to choose from.

We rode hard the whole trip and it was amazing. The sun wasn’t even supposed to be shining on Sunday so all of it felt like a gift.

It was hard to take but the weekend had to come to an end sometime.

We had the cameras rolling quite a bit, and Jeremy is a pro so I expect to see some great action photos from this trip. Lets just say a certain picture triggered remotely by the rider (Jeremy) is most definitely a cover shot and will blow some minds.

I did some amateur video editing of the weekend for you all to enjoy. Its a download and plays on quicktime. Should only take a few minutes to load, just hit the red skate the sawtooths link here > Skate the Sawtooths

Alan called on Sunday with a plan to meet up with Jordan and ride Kooteay pass on Wednesday. At first I thought I was too busy to go, but then the reality of the opportunity came into focus and a plan was made, kinda. As timing would have it a call from Brandon about wanting to ride his new Boyd Hill powderskate got him an invite. Combine that with my new 145’s first run and Alan on his new 36″ chiller top deck and this trip was turning into a testing expedition.

The quiver in question.

Out of the dirty parking lot and into the soft fluffy back country in five minutes.

First ten feet of the warm up run and Alan is in the air.

Brandon‘s first run on his new powderskate

Find waldo

With our warm up out of the way its off to some real terrain.

We stayed and played in this bowl for the rest of the trip. Lots of pillow drops and with a bit of hiking steep untracked runs.

This an amazing zone with easy access and deep snow. Can’t wait to go back.

Here’s a shot of a new sub I’m working on. Its 145 cm and as you can see by the sidecut this should be a good match.  The tails a bit wacky too if you haven’t already noticed but so far the test runs have been engaging. I know the camber looks crazy, I’m sure your wondering where I came up with that and all I can say is “who knows??”

Anyways check it out, let me know what you think in the comments section.

Vacuum press at work on another 51 big.

51 standard and 51 big side by side. You can see the obvious dimension and side cut differences.  The waist and tail of the big is about 1″ wider then the standard.

Brain Wilson printed me up some new stickers of just the right colors.  Big rode great today thanks to the conditions being perfect. Even though its wide it carves well, not as easily as the 51 standard but considering its wide waist today was better then I could have hoped for. Since I carry the camera there are no shots of me. Maybe Eric or Cole will slow down a bit next time and snap some pics.

Today was epic, about 6 inches of soft cold snow on top of a crazy crust of small hail balls. It was a perfect day to explore some steep in bounds terrain. We got first tracks all over today, thanks to the main quad being shut down. You had to ride two old style chairs to get the the north bowls plus the fact that it was a Thursday made for an pretty empty mountain. Here’s a shot of Eric on our last run.

This early grab was a make but just barely.