Tag Archives: snowboard

World Snowboard Day takes place this Sunday, December 18. The global event is a celebration for the 1 plankers; an ode to the 2-edgers of the world.

To prepare for the upcoming day I thought I would shreducate myself by asking some new and old snowboarding legends the question: “What does snowboarding mean to you?” Here’s what they had to say:

Finn Finestone, Whistler grom

Photo: Brian Finestone

“Snowboarding makes me feel calm, all week I look forward to riding so I can try new tricks and get better at my old ones. Riding in powder is fun, I like the way you float and it gets all quiet.”

Brian Finestone, Whistler Blackcomb Terrain Parks Manager (Finn’s Dad)

“Snowboarding has been a part of my life for 26 years. It used to be the personal progression that kept me going but now it’s the enjoyment of sharing it with my son. There are very few things in life that get me stoked like riding deep powder!”

Braden Dean, Voleurz athlete

“Snowboarding means a reason to wake up early in the morning, to continuously work on being in good physical condition, and to eat healthy so I can ride harder for longer.

Snowboarding gives meaning to the seasons and the weather. Changes in temperature, visibility or precipitation have an affect on where I go and what I do on any given day, week or month.

Snowboarding has introduced me to my best friends and given a purpose to my travels around the world.

Snowboarding has given me a reason to stay healthy, strong and in tune with my environment, and passion to share with my friends.”

Ken Achenbach, Camp of Champions Founder/snowboard legend

“Snowboarding means I get to be 15 for the rest of my life. It means being able to close your eyes and see the exact second your life changed. It means making friends that last a lifetime. It means traveling the world. It means being a local everywhere but at home.

It means having a secret handshake that opens doors to places you never imagined. It means days you never forget. It means days where you wish you could turn back time. It means days where time stops. It means changing your life without even realizing you are doing so.

It means surfing. It means living in the future you imagined and created. It means living in a bubble. It means experiencing your friends at their happiest moments. It means learning things about yourself that you never knew you needed to learn.

It means you know what luck is. It means sharing the worst of times. It means being alone in amazing places. It means traveling inside your head. It means seeing things that don’t get seen by normal people.

It means having the last laugh. It means waking up and always being happy. It means toothpaste from Tokyo, life and haircuts from Chamonix, socks from Verbier, appreciation from Ballarat, pit stick from London, pies from Auckland, music from Melbourne and friends and pictures from everywhere.

It means trees and the spaces in between. It means never growing up. It means the smell of pine. It means living somewhere where everyone gasps with envy when you tell them where you live.

It means you always buy “Powder Fresh Scent” even though you know that’s not the powder they are talking about. It means seeing mountains up close. It means you know the thousand of shades of blue.

It means you can smell winter. It means you know light. It means never being an adult. It means Fuji 50, 500, 5.6. It means you love helicopters, snowcats, powder, your friends and not in that order.

It means nothing and everything. It means fun.”

Dano Pendygrasse, legendary snowboard photographer

Photo: Dano Pendygrasse, James Kurylo 1996

“The easy answer is that Snowboarding is one of the parents of my career, that it is responsible for the direction I’ve taken in life and that I owe it a huge debt. The more complex answer is that my feelings about the idea of snowboarding have changed dramatically, that the parts of the sport that I like are harder to find, and that my desire to be a part of the current incarnation of the sport has waned. Considerably.

Still, strip away the industry, fashion, trends and resorts, put me on top of an untracked run with Morry, Warburton, Garry, Shin and Kearns, and there is literally no place in the world that I’d rather be. I’ve had my share of 100-day seasons and now it’s all about qualityover quantity. Even if that means going without if I can’t ride the way I want.”

Vera Janssen, pro rider

“Snowboarding makes me feel free and it let’s me be the person I want to be. It has given me an identity, yet it does not press me into a form.

Snowboarding is my way of self-expression; drawing lines into the mountains is my form of art – I am closest to myself when I am in the mountains, in nature, with the elements and my board – it purifies my soul.”

Graham Turner, Showcase Snowboard Shop boss man

“Snowboarding to me means sliding on snow and sliding on snow has been a part of my life for the past 40 or more years. The sliding on snow business has been my career since I was 14 years old. Snow can take a huge rugged mountain and turn it into a white magic carpet that you surf over incredible terrain that would normally be impassable. Snowboarding with my friends & family makes me smile a lot:) I am super stoked to pass this down to my little boy!”

Me, a BC girl who just loves to slide

“Snowboarding is freedom. It’s relaxation and exhilaration all in one moment. Snowboarding is the first time I learned how to link turns. It’s also my first cliff drop and those really stormy days when the alpine isn’t open and you can still get un-tracked lines every run. It’s hitting the pipe and high-5ing my boyfriend after an epic session. It’s listening to that little rattle on the chairlift as you upload and inhaling the scent of hot wax. Snowboarding is smelling like fresh alpine air and soaking up the muffled silence a big snow storm brings. Snowboarding completes me.”

It’s clear that the passion we all have for this sport can’t be boiled down into on simple answer. This Sunday, pay tribute to the sport that has brought you joy and go sliding. You’ll be glad you did.

What does snowboarding mean to you? We welcome you to answer in the comments below:

Vans Boots & Protect Our Winters

February 4, 2011

Environment, Lifestyle

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I’m very passionate about reducing my footprint on the environment. Neil and I compost, recycle, take our reusable shopping bags to the grocery store, turn our lights off when we’re not using them, turn our heat down when we leave the house and try to eat sustainably when possible. At work, I recently committed to not using my space heater – which uses approximately 1,300 Kilowatt hours.

But often times, when it comes to our passions (travel and action sports), it’s not as easy to reduce our footprint. Thankfully, more and more corporations are starting to realize this and are adjusting their practices accordingly.

A while ago, I wrote a blog about Protect Our Winters, an organization founded by pro snowboarder Jeremy Jones. POW lobbies for policies to help prevent climate change and partners with action sports brands to help bring awareness and raise funds to invest in sustainable initiatives.

For a number of years, I’ve been part of the Vans Snowboard Boot test team. This year, I have been lucky enough to test drive the the women’s Veil boot. The Veil features 50% recycled PET textile, 50% recycled PET synthetic and nontoxic water-based solvents. On the back of the boot is the Protect Our Winters logo to remind consumers of the partnership and their contribution to the environment.

Vans Women's Veil Snowboard Boot

Vans is a “gold sponsor” of POW, which means the company has donated over $10,000 towards the cause through their involvement in the 1% For The Planet Program. This means, 1% of proceeds from every boot sold is donated to POW. There are a host of other sponsors that participate in the same program.

It’s not just winter sports industries that are jumping on board. POW just recently partnered with the Surfrider Foundation to offer a joint membership so all board sport enthusiasts can “protect where you play.” You can find out more about that by checking out this link.

As climate change begins to affect us more and more, we must become responsible consumers and stick with brands that are supporting this cause. I’m glad Vans is one of them!

Survived the Festival..sort of

April 25, 2010

Arts & Culture, Festivals

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Wow! It’s hard to believe that today is Day 10 of the TELUS World Ski and Snowboard Festival. I’m slightly surprised that I made it to the end. My Olympic party training somehow didn’t prepare me for the festival – even though I already knew what to expect.

Since I left you last, there have been so many adventures and new friends. For one, I actually got up to ride in the spirit of the “ski and snowboard” part of the festival.

So, first, I checked out the Grenade Games Superpipe competition on Friday.

I went riding with my boyfriend Neil and we tested out our new Go Pro HD Hero helmet cam. He has designed a homemade filming device: a red broom handle with a wristband. Actually, to be fair it works really well and takes awesome POV footy. We’ll be making an edit of our adventures.

One of our stops was the new mini pipe on Blackcomb Mountain, which is my favourite addition to the park. It’s perfect for people like me, who are just starting out in the pipe world. For those who are more apt at pipe, there’s the Olympic-sized Superpipe a little further down the road.

Wandering through the village is always fun during WSSF. We came across the Whistler Dogfest and checked that out for a while. I dream of one day owning a dog named Mickey.

Yesterday evening it was on to Sushi Village, the iconic Whistler dining spot, for a dinner with a few media friends, such as blogger Van City Allie, Snowboard Canada, Frequency The Snowboarders’ Journal, ESPN and Tyler Ingram, to name a few.

We may or may not have polished off 2 Dumbos of saki and approximately 10 saki margarita pitchers. Our gracious waitor, who also happens to be the talented photographer Rich Glass, also delivered the ultimate sushi experience with a ton of yummy sushi rolls to choose from. Mmmm.

For the record, here is Gerhard Gross of Snowboard Canada and one of our Dumbos of saki so you can see just how much alcohol we consumed!

After that, I may or may not have participated in a Hot Tub Time Machine bachelorette party for my friend Kat. She’s getting married next month. We might have dressed up in ’80s retro gear and danced around the chalet in our bikinis drunk. I can neither confirm nor deny this, but I might have also worn a sweet retro ski jacket.

So many new friends and great times at this year’s festival. But, it’s not over yet for me. Tonight, I’m checking out the Chairlift Revue. It’s my first time so I’m intrigued.