2011 Nitro Swindle Earlyman

The Nitro Swindle has been a staple in my board quiver for going on three years.  I've watched this model evolve over the last few seasons from a slight camber to zero camber and this year Nitro has thinned the core underfoot for even more flex and tweakability.

While the Swindle has always been advertised as an urban rail slayer, this year it fits that profile more than ever.

I got my hands on the Swindle Earlyman (A special edition collaboration with the metal band Earlyman) through High Cascade's demo center.  This was a summer demo meaning snow conditions ranging from salt-crusted to deep slush.  High Cascades expansive park layout let me test the deck on jumps, rails and in the pipe, while Mt. Hood summer conditions gave me some rocks and gullies to play around on.

First, this years Swindle is noticeably softer than previous models.  While it's fun to butter around and easy to maneuver, I found the pop to be serious lacking.  Rocks I was nollie-360ing over with ease using Nitro's Gullwing camber (a play on reverse) I could barely clear with the 2011 Swindle.

Compared to past models, the pop/snap in the 2010 was surprising given the switch to zero camber and the 2009 (traditional camber) boosted; the 2011 was for lack of a better word "dead" underfoot.

Kickers have never been the Swindle's strong point, however the deck will handle most medium sized booters (up to 35 feet).  The Swindle is too soft for anything bigger and will buckle at high speeds and larger compression.

On a plus, the softer torsional flex from thinning the core let you get insanely creative with tweaking grabs.

Cruising with the 2011 Swindle turns any groomer into a playground; The board is loose underfoot, and again pretty soft, so have fun buttering and flat-spinning your way down the hill.  For charging or eurocarving this isn't the deck to go for; it doesn't absorb chop too well and will give way with high speed carves.

On rails the Swindle is as good as ever.  The looser feel edge-to-edge was tailor made to setting up your approach for rails. The deck does phenomenal presses, and I've always loved zero camber for locking boardslides dead centered.  I've been pretty hard on the pop for the 2011 model, but I want to point out it still does it's job getting you on whatever jib might tickle your fancy.

Not much worth mentioning as far the halfpipe goes, but I will say that the Swindle is fun to play with in the minipipe.

Overall I think Nitro set out this year to fit the Swindle to the urban/rail category they've had it in for a while; while in past years it was an overall slayer all over the mountain, this year I would limit the Swindle to being a playful spring park/jib deck.

Check out the Swindle and Nitro's other decks on their website.

2011 Nitro Pro Series Gross Out Eero

The Nitro Swindle is the first snowboard I've loved enough to invest in two generations.  The construction, performance and price is unparalleled, so when I had the chance to demo some boards at Mt. Hood a few weeks ago, I went right to the Nitro rack to see if all of their boards were equally amazing.

I had heard some amazing things about the Gullwing tech, which is Nitro's take on multi-camber that lifts the contact points while employing traditional camber beneath the bindings.  Unfortunately all of the Team Gullwing models were out, but I was able to snag the Gross Out Series Eero Ettala, essentially a team Gullwing with special graphics.

This is a directional model with a slight setback.  That always plays game with my head, especially riding switch, so I set up my Flux Super Emblems to get the board as twin as possible. While I thought setting my bindings to make the deck twin might alter how the Gullwing tech rode, I was pleasantly surprised.

Mt. Hood in August has a very unique riding surface.  It can be firm in the morning, and especially firm where salted, then it softens into deep slush a little past noon.

High Cascade gave me a lot of options to try the deck out in, from rails to the halfpipe, freeriding, rocks, and a number of medium sized kickers (20 to 30 feet).  The Pro Series Gross Out Eero passed all of my tests with flying colors.

On saltier, hard-packed terrain the board gripped well through hard turns.  It cut through deep slush at high speed nicely, and never felt too hooky or squirrely.

The pop on this deck was impressive, one thing I always have reservations about when riding an alternative camber board.  I guess adding slight camber beneath the bindings does what it is supposed to do.  This was one of the really fun things about the board, popping high off rollers, ollieing and spinning over rocks.

In the lap park (where High Cascade maintained a number of medium kickers) the Gross Out Eero absolutely slayed it.  I had no problems with speed or clearing jumps, the looser feeling of raised contact points made it easier to set up spins, and one thing I noticed was where I'm usually a bit backseat with the first few hits while I get used to reverse camber, this board did exactly what I wanted it to do from the get-go.

I always kill it in the pipe with alternative camber, and the Gross Out Eero was no exception.  Whether it had to do with Nitro's custom base with this model, or simply High Cascade's stellar park construction, I had no trouble keeping speed and linking hits wall to wall.

On rails, the explosive pop and loose ride edge to edge are a great advantage.  Raised contact points make it easier and safer to really tweak out boardslides catch-free, and of course the reverse camber part of the deck means you can press and butter to your heart's content. One area I had trouble (and I always do with alternative camber decks) was locking boardslides centered over thinner features such as rails; for boxes everything was all good, but rails not so much.

Overall, the Gross Out Eero wins the award for best deck I demoed this summer, and while I would recommend to anyone more into switch riding in the park that they look for the true-twin Team Gullwing, if you are someone who likes to destroy the mountain all-around this directional take on Nitro's Gullwing tech would be the way to go.

Check out Nitro's Pro Series Gross Out Eero and their other solid products at Nitrosnbrds.com.

Bear Mountain Presents 'No Big Deal'

No Big Deal holds a special place in my heart.  Not only was it a record setting season for Bear Mountain, but it was also my first year on a snowboard after high school.

There I was working the midnight shift for UPS.  At 9am I would punch out, hop in my car and make the hour drive to Bear to relieve some stress; it was the year that started it all.

Bear gave me a copy of their promotional DVD, No Big Deal, on my first visit of the season.  It was the first snowboard movie I ever owned, so needless to say I watched it so much I finally wore it out... even the menu skipped, and playing it was impossible.

It remains to this day one of my favorite edits, so I lit a fire under my ass to get my copy playing again. Getting the DVD to you via Vimeo meant buying a Skip Dr, and after that didn't work, sending the disc to Florida for resurfacing.  On the way to Florida the disc cracked, but somehow it missed the data, and I was able to get all the files.

Low and behold, here it is: No Big Deal. I'm in the same boat as you, watching this for the first time in years... and I remember the magic that made me continue to blow my UPS check on gas to drive up to Bear three times a week.

With the copious amounts of snow, Bear made the 2004/2005 season the biggest and most creative season I ever experienced there.

From enormous kickers to a plethora of VW Bugs, blazers, and giant rails painted to look like the American flag, it was a really great time to be riding in Southern California. M3 still existed, Mikkel Bang and Zak Hale were still groms with high-pitched voices, and 1080s were still a big deal.

Join me in reminiscing on a season long passed. I hope you all enjoy No Big Deal as much I did when I first saw it, and still do every time I watch it.

Bear Mountain Promo 2004 - No Big Deal from Deserts Don't Snow on Vimeo.

High Cascade Adult Session 6 - August 2010

The top of Palmer; Above the clouds.

 I have been going to High Cascade for a number of years now as both a youth camper and an adult, and in the last two the camp has gone through an enormous number of changes.

The crew gets ready to shred.

This years adult session featured some of the strongest talent from "old people" I've witnessed in a while.  With a number of improvements and additions to High Cascade's facilities on snow and off, it was a perfect recipe for progression.

On hill the setup couldn't have been crispier.  An abundance of rails, wallrides, medium jumps, and signature creations like the double manual pad, with one showtime booter kept on its own. All of this instantly accessible via the Big Toe (High Cascade's first rope tow added summer of last year).

A good-morning cruise through Main Park.

One of the keys to progression that High Cascade has stuck with is starting each session fresh with all features buried to where falling becomes low-consequence; there is no better way to build confidence as familiar features melt out and grow bigger each day.   

A private lap park just for you. Rails to hip to more jumps!

Backflips into clouds.

The highlight of the session for me was the lap park. While it no longer featured the back-to-back hips I enjoyed last summer, the slopestyle setup of rails between jumps High Cascade went with this year made for some really progressive hot laps.  The kickers were sized perfectly for trying all of the things you weren't completely sure about, and many a first backflip attempt was landed here.

Hiking the pipe, while considered by some a kind of religious experience and chance to become one with the transition, takes a lot out of you.  With the addition of a second rope tow to do away with that endurance test, the adult campers found themselves riding High Cascade's superpipe more often.  Many of us learned to air out of a pipe for the first time, still more even learned to link spins in all four directions off both walls.

Hard to miss, the biggest addition to High Cascade's main park was the airbag on loan from the DC Mountain Lab.  Landing on a cushion of air gives you the balls to do some brave things, and a few adult campers came away with their first backflips board attached.

Chris Hargrave (Green beanie) teaching the handplant "squirt".

An adult-only handplant clinic with instructor extraordinaire Chris Hargrave yielded tremendous results.  Many campers were able to stick their first handplants, and the ones that didn't were well on their way to landing it this coming season.  Words cannot express my stoke in learning a trick that had been giving me grief for three years on both walls of the minipipe.  Cheers to you Chris for making dreams come true.

 New additions to the skate areas.

Off snow the activities offered by High Cascade reached new heights, with a redesigned skate course, completely new bowls to skate, and the all new foampit/trampoline area.

The best part about being an adult camper is the opportunity to participate in "adult-only" activities.  We were given full reign of the bowls and the trampoline course; no kids allowed!  All of the adult coaches came together to teach everyone how to skate the bowls, but the one thing everyone got into was a backflip clinic using the trampolines and foam pit.  Every adult camper learned to backflip that day; some even went on to try doubles, gainers, and rodeos.

Even with all of the fun to be had, there are still some things about camp that need to change.  It's understandable with Mt. Hood being one of the big summer training grounds for professional snowboarders that campers and pros will be sharing the mountain, but watching pro riders hang out with themselves, snake campers in the rope-tow line, and generally be their own entity separate from the camp experience is discouraging. 

This is part of High Cascade that has gotten more noticeable the longer I'm at camp, and considering the average session costs about $3000 I feel like those who have daily access to these facilities can be a bit more sympathetic.  For example, why should the Stepchild team skate with the kids and make someone's session when they can just do their own thing?

All in all, it was a unique experience to see the camaraderie and watch a group of nearly 60 adult campers (the largest adult session to date) of entirely different skill levels push each other to accomplish their goals.  We learned handplants in a halfpipe together, we learned how to backflip together, we skated the bowls together, and when we were done we partied our asses off at DJ Matty Mo's final show.

Rumor has it that with the success of this adult camp, we've proven to High Cascade we are worth the investment and next year adults will have three opportunities to enjoy camp versus the two (first and last session) that have been available in years past.

One thing is certain, seeing a train of the entire adult crew boost every jump in the lap park was once in a lifetime, and the most fun I think I've ever had at camp. Rock on "Old People"!

Hood Bound

The Hood shot.

 What a journey it has been. I woke up at 6am on Tuesday morning and jet out of Southern California with my sights on getting as close to Mt. Hood as possible. Counting an overnight stop in Redmond, Oregon the trip took about 16 hours driving nonstop.

There's was a lot of amazing scenery to take in moving from deserts to cities, plains, lakes, and rivers; unfortunately I had no time for any of it, so I did some drivebys.

Ground Zero

Leaving the desert.

Six Flags

California "Happy Cows" huddled shoulder-to-shoulder to live in their own shit.

Farmland

Sacramento--the city of...trees?

California landscape shot

First evidence that snow still exists.

Where they filmed Sound of Music. No, I don't know.

Sunset in Oregon. Only 230 miles to go...

Fancy views from a fancy Portland apartment.

It's nice to be in Oregon and out of the scorching heat. It's also nice that in Oregon you aren't allowed to pump your own gas, so I haven't had to do that for a couple of days. Of course snowboarding today was excellent. Nothing too fancy in the public park this late in the season: for rails there was a choice a single barrel donkey dick, a double barrel down, and a flat bar; for jumps a line of 4 perfectly shaped kickers, which were definitely the highlight of the day.

I have to say I think this is the most barren I've seen Mt. Hood in August, but the public park has kept good shape and I spotted some cats working on the High Cascade layout for session 6, which starts tomorrow. Stay tuned for photos and coverage of what goes down.

Bones Brigade Presents 'The Search for Animal Chin'

Let's face facts.  The soul of skateboarding has really been lost these days.  It's either about what tricks you do, what clothes you wear, or how hard you can party. And even though skateboarding was born out of a punk rock, surfers-in-exile attitude there were really only three reasons to bother with it: to hang out with friends, hunt down new spots, and have fun.

The Search for Animal Chin defines what skating and skate videos should always be.  There are no parts; nobody doing trick after trick after trick.  There isn't any excessive partying,  There is nothing serious about the movie at all.  Just a bunch of skate kids hanging out and traveling the world to skate while trying to find a legendary skater by the name of Animal Chin.

This is the original right here. A Powell-Peralta production featuring the dream team of the late 80s; Tony Hawk, Steve Caballero, Mike McGill, Tommy Guerrero, Lance Mountain, and even an appearance from the father of flatland, Rodney Mullen.

Sit back and enjoy, but be warned. This movie will get you stoked to go out and skate. And not skate in the sense of sticking that new trick, but skating for skating's sake... just getting out of the house and rolling around, doing whatever stupid shit comes to mind.

Absinthe Films presents 'Nowhere'

Absinthe has been dominating the snowboard film industry with spectacular videos showcasing some of the gnarliest backcountry shit since 2000.  That makes this year the big one-zero, 10 years in the game slaying movie screens and television sets worldwide.

For their 10th flick, Nowhere, Absinthe is pulling all the stops.  More style, more bangers, more bails-- more powder, more big mountain, more rails...

The list of talent says it all: Dan Brisse, Jake Blauvelt, Gigi Rüf, Lucas Debari, Fredi Kalbermatten, Sylvain Bourbousson, Romain deMarchi, DCP, JP Solberg, Annie Boulanger, Marie-France Roy, Bjorn Leines, Taka Nakai, Tadashi Fuse, Jules Reymond, Cale Zima, Blair Habenicht, Terje Haakonsen, Bode Merrill, Wolfgang Nyvelt, Nicolas Müller.

None of those names can be left out.  These riders are at the forefront of our sport; they are reinventing snowboarding daily, and seeing them all come together in Nowhere is going to be jawdropping. Here is a two-minute preview of what's in store for us:

NowHere trailer by Absinthe Films from Absinthe Films on Vimeo.

What's interesting is how Absinthe has played on the word "Nowhere" by separating it into two different words Now/Here.  Even in the middle of nowhere, even doing something that may or may not matter, it's important to savor every moment:

"Movement can give the illusion of progress. And they say that all the world is illusion. So what is the difference between exploring and being lost?

In a winter that brought an exceptional amount of challenges to riders all over the world, Absinthe's newest snowboard film reminds us how much our reality is affected by what we make of it.

Whether you are lost ... or exactly where you want to be ... all depends on how you look at it."

This is one video you'll want to start putting aside change in your piggy bank for.  Keep yourself updated on the Absinthe website, and be ready to snag your copy September 2010.

Yoga for Snowboarders

-- via Lululemon

According to a Park City patroller, we are officially halfway between the end of summer and the start of winter.  This is a really good thing, unless you have some long-standing pain from injuries in seasons past still plaguing you.

I warmed up to the idea of doing yoga after watching an episode of King of the Hill.  In the episode, Hank manages to tweak his back lifting propane tanks and his doctor is at a loss for ways to fix it.  Crippled and unable to do the work he loves so very much, Hank reluctantly joins a yoga class.

As snowboarders, our joints get abused--alot! For myself, my hips pop, my knees crack, my ankles lock up.  One particular flat landing in early 2009 really did a number on my right hip, causing me pain ever since. I figured there had to be some truth behind the episode where yoga healed Hank, so I gave it a try.

Lo and behold, a week of doing short 15 minute sessions in the morning when I woke up and at night before I went to bed have made a tremendous impact on my joint stiffness and pain of movement, as well as dramatically increasing the range of motion particularly for my hips.

Before trying yoga I couldn't lift my leg above my hips without jolting pain, and that was doing things slowly. Now I can lift it to my chest and give my knee a great big hug.

See, yoga is a lot more than just fancy stretching.  It engages and strengthens muscles you may not have been aware you had.  It let's your joints enjoy their full range of motion.  Certain poses will increase your ability to focus and balance...

All of these things are crucial to snowboarding.

So, while it may not be the most "manly" thing to do, and Hank Hill would agree with you on that, adding yoga to your off season is a relaxing, passive way to build yourself up for the first run of the season.  The added strength and range of motion you will gain may even save you from an injury plagued season.

The season is coming faster than you think.  Take steps to work out the kinks in your body by practicing a little yoga every now and then.  If you don't know where to start, YogaJournal.com is a great reference for pose diagrams and general tips. Namaste.

Bear Mountain Presents 'Sunday'

The 2007 season was a rough one for Bear Mountain.  While the weather was cool enough the clouds never came, and Bear had to rely on their snow making system if local riders were going to enjoy a season.

One of Bear's biggest investments, where they spend most of the money we bring to the resort, is in snowmaking.  Being located in Southern California, dry seasons like the one in 2007 are almost guaranteed, and a strong snowmaking fleet is the only way to know for sure that your resort is going to survive.

Bear can open top to bottom with only two to three days of snowmaking... that's how expansive their system really is.  Even though things were looking gloomy, everyone was stoked when the last minute announcement was made, "Bear will kick off the season in a couple of days".

Ironically, even given the fact that most of the snow they had to work with came right out their reservoirs, Bear Mountain managed to make 2006/2007 one of their greatest seasons.  After all it only takes a little bit of snow to take advantage of the "best snowboard park in the world", and that year Bear really lived up to the title.

'Sunday' was Bear's promotional video to let everyone know that even with barely any natural snowfall, Bear Mountain still kicked ass!

Bear Mountain 2007 Promo - Sunday from Deserts Don't Snow on Vimeo.

Snowboarders Don't Workout: Cartwheels

It's mid-July, and we are at the peak of summer heat and unpleasantness.  We are all dying for the cold crispness of winter and the chance to strap into our boards again.  Maybe you've even strapped in, stood in front your air conditioner at full blast, and pretended you were flying down your favorite slope.

Carpet boarding isn't uncommon at this point.  You accidentally look at your snowboard, and the next thing you know are trying to nose/tail press, ollie, and spin in your living room.  This is all good for cheap thrills, but who's up for taking carpet boarding to a whole new level?

Cartwheels on a snowboard are just plain fun.  They are that trick you know you can do, but always forget to try on hill because there are so many distractions (rails, bonks, kickers, halfpipes).  Well, there's no snow right now, and obviously you are bored, so maybe it's time to finally get around to trying a cartwheel.

First, practice just doing regular cartwheels.  For me, it had been a long time since my upper body had come into the equation, and the first few cartwheels I tried were awkward to say the least.

As you start to get your cartwheels back, think about what will be different when you strap in.  With the nose in front of you, you will have to sort of jump into the cartwheel to keep from hooking.  The nose will also flex, which is a good thing if you get your weight past it to where it will help pop you into the cartwheel, but it can also fight you.

In landing, you will have to deal with the tail of your board.  Where it is easy to roll onto your back foot in a normal cartwheel, the tail gives you an extra foot or so of material you'll need to clear and throw your body weight over in order to land.

With all of that in mind, strap in and give it a go...

Rock back and forth to get a feel for the flex and how much you'll have to throw your weight to get your arms past the nose.  Remember, the nose needs to leave the ground first to avoid hooking, so whenever you are ready, pop a nollie and explode over the nose, putting your front hand about where the tip of the nose was.

If all goes well, you will be cartwheeling whether you like it or not.  The next step is landing.  At the top of your cartwheel, where your board is over your head and both hands are on the ground, push off the ground to give yourself a little extra oomph to bring the tail back underneath you.  When the base of the tail hits the ground, throw your weight forward so you land centered over the board.

Bam! That's a snowboard cartwheel.  Here's what mine looked like; not that impressive but still fun:

These are way easier to do on small rollers thanks to added momentum uphill, and a little extra space to bring the tail around on the downhill.  Unfortunately, no rollers until we get some snow, but now you've got another fun trick to try on your living room carpet--actually, you should probably try these outside.

Swimming - The Kickboard

Regardless of the sport you do, swimming is arguably the best offseason activity you can do outside of the sport itself.  Swimming does wonders for strength, endurance, and can even promote healing of minor injuries.

Swimmers use the kickboard, a small foam board that floats, to take their arms out of the equation and concentrate on their kicking technique.  For us snowboarders, the kickboard let's us target the part of our body we use the most: our legs. Using the kickboard, you can give your legs an awesome workout emphasizing strength, endurance and explosiveness while putting virtually no pressure on your crucial joins (knees, ankles, hips).

Another bonus for broke snowboard bums, kickboards are super cheap, usually less than $10. You can probably even borrow one from your local public pool for the day free of charge.

There are three main kicks to practice, each with specific benefits to your riding...

The freestyle kick is straightforward.  If you know how to swim, you likely learned to do it using the freestyle stroke.  The kick is done by simply alternating your legs.  This exercise let's you work each leg individually, strengthening the quads and hamstrings (two vital muscles for absorbing terrain in snowboarding).  These small, quick kicks will also give your legs greater endurance on the slopes.

The breast stroke kick is the most complicated of all of the exercises.  I'll let the video above explain the finer points of doing this kick properly, but you should note that the motion is somewhat similar to jumping minus the impact and pressure put on your knees.  The breast stroke kick not only builds explosiveness with its snapping motion, but the general technique is also good for stretching and loosening areas that get beaten pretty good during the season.

The butterfly kick is a powerful kick that uses both legs to boost you forward in the water.  For this kick to be truly effective, you really need to explode from the quads, making it an awesome strengthening exercise.  Your core also comes into play in timing and initializing the snap, as well as stabilizing your body in the water.

It's a sweltering 110º+ daily where I live, and from what I understand those of us not in the southern hemisphere are all suffering from a miserably hot, hot, hot summer.  For just about all of us, swimming is the only exercise we are going to get until winter finally comes back. And who wants to spend the first few weeks of the season sore as fuck?

Don't forget your Speedo!

Zero Skateboards Presents 'Misled Youth' - Video Saturdays

Zero's  Misled Youth tops my list of all-time favorite skate videos.  There I was, just a little tyke with my very first skateboard setup... I would watch this video on repeat every night, and this was back with VHS when you had to rewind the tape every time you wanted to watch it again.

What makes this video so great? I always think of Misled Youth as the defining video of the street era of skateboarding.  It was so damn raw; unadulterated.

This is when skateboarding had finally made it's comeback, and these dudes were hungry for a piece.  It represents street skating back before the industry got insanely wrapped up in image versus passion.  I mean, just look at Jim Greco--no frilly lace, no gypsy adornments, no oversized chick sunglasses...just the skating.

Misled Youth also has one of the raddest skate video soundtracks ever! Come on; you've got Sabbath, old school Modest Mouse, Queen, The Doors, Slayer, and the list goes on. 

Unfortunately a lot of the soundtrack was lost to YouTube licensing bullshit, and equally unfortunate I had to try and piece together the movie from memory for you to enjoy...but the good news is if you never had the chance to, at least now you can:

Video Games - Stoked Big Air Edition (Xbox 360)

Ok, it's 115ºF outside.  If you took a cold shower, completely dried off, and stepped outside you'd be drenched in sweat not thirty seconds later.  You are a snowboarder, and this whole "summer" thing just isn't for you; there's nothing wrong with cranking up the A/C and throwing on some video games...

And why not toss in a great snowboarding game to relive the winter right from your couch? I wrote a review on Stoked some time ago, and shortly after they made just about all of the changes I (and apparently everyone) had asked for.  So what's new in Stoked Big Air Edition?

First, they added park features! Big-air kickers, flat boxes, kink boxes and more are all at your disposal in this latest version.  The original Stoked was seriously lacking in variety; you had a choice of logs and...logs.  Needless to say being able to hit anything different at all is pretty exciting.

Stoked Big Air Edition also brings some new challenges with it.  From high speed races to slopestyle contests, it's nice to have a more dynamic gameplay experience.  They've also introduced marked trails aka groomers, so you can get some serious speed and with that some serious air time.

Of course, last but not least, they couldn't just release all this stuff without adding a few new mountains.  Now you have a choice of seven mountains to shred, each one rideable from top to bottom, 360º all-around.

Like I said in my review of the original, Stoked is the most accurate and immersive snowboard video game to date and Stoked Big Air Edition has taken that one step further with all of these great additions, refined physics and gameplay mechanics, and that same gracious $20 price tag.

That's right, Stoked Big Air Edition costs $20.  For many of us this might be the closest we get to snowboarding for the next four or five months, so if you are starting to fiend for the shred head out to Gamestop, Target, Walmart or what have you, pick up a copy, and see if you can ease some of the pain.

Isenseven Presents 'Don't Panic'

Snowboarding can be stressful. Maybe you lose your airline ticket, or worse your passport. Ever had to frantically figure how to pay that $100 overweight baggage charge?

What about when you finally get to the resort, and you find out you forgot something small but essential like gloves or goggles?

Walking up to the ticket window, maybe you find out tickets are $20 more than you expected (with resorts using variable pricing based on conditions, this actually can happen).

Then there are those infamous moments where you realize things are all wrong--usually when you are in mid-air and falling fast, arms flailing about. I call these the "Oh, Shit!" moments.

Imaging juggling all of that along with the added pressure of filming, editing and producing a full length shred flick... Isenseven offers some wise words with the title of their latest production, Don't Panic.

Isenseven - "Don't Panic!" TEASER from Vincent Urban on Vimeo.

"Don't Panic! Yes, you should not panic. Why panic? Things are good, aren't they? Speaking of "things"...."Don't Panic!" is also the name for IsenSevens 2010 movie.

We travelled to powdery Euro resorts, snowed-in German and Scandinavian cities, slushy California parks, Russian ghettos and all kinds of other fun places.....except Vegas. No snow there this year.

With a bunch of new riders, familiar faces and new additions to the production team, we regrouped to form a snowboard-movie-super-alliance which even the United Nations couldn't shake a stick at.

Equipped with fancy schmancy cameras and cool cranes/jibs/dollys/cable cams/filming monkeys we set out to make yet another fine movie filled with the typical fun riding, banger bangers, people doing stupid things, rails, pow, park, bright and flashy colors and little snow caves."

One could argue that the heart of snowboarding now lies in Europe.  It's all about having fun, and those Euros just seem to get it.

Isenseven has done an amazing job showing us how it's done in Europe for several seasons.  These guys aren't your run-of-the-mill, "Hey, let's make a snowboard movie", types.  They figured if they were going to do it, it needed to be done right.

With a talented crew of riders capable of slaying everything from backcountry, rails, and park, and a film crew with an eye for that perfect shot, Isenseven movies take us around the globe from Scandinavia to California using spectacular footage and tasteful post-production editing to tell the story of a snowboard season done right.

So to summarize: Sick riding, amazing camera work,  a heavy dose of your favorite Euro-tunes, and an emphasis on fun, fun, and more fun.

Relax! You can catch Isenseven's Don't Panic this September, but be warned... it will make you want to go snowboarding really f'in badly.

Tyrant Snowboards - How Not to Rep Your Company

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Blind Skateboards presents 'Video Days' - Video Saturdays

There were a lot of things happening to skateboarding in 1991. Gone were the days of neon clothing, and super wide asymmetrical vert boards. The cost and liability of running transition oriented skate parks forced many to close their doors for good; if skateboarding was going to survive, it needed to take to the streets.

Blind Skateboard's Video Days showed the world that skateboarding wasn't dead.  Fusing innovative street tricks with a taste of the golden era of vert, Video Days paved the way for the progression of skateboarding and skateboard videos as we know it.

Take a trip back to the good old days when Jason Lee wasn't Earl Hickey, Guy Mariano was just an ankle-biter, and Mark Gonzalez was... still the Gonz--some things never change.

Balance Board Training - Part 2

A few months ago I did a post on using a homemade balance board to fiddle around with rail tricks or just master the finer points of balance.  With any homemade creation, and especially with training exercises, a visual demonstration is always much more valuable.

Braving the 110ºF heat, I managed to get a couple of minutes of footage showing both my homemade balance board setup and how I use it to practice tricks.  It isn't pretty, but training and learning new things rarely is:

So you can see what I mean when I said to try jumping right into tricks.  I also tried a variety of tricks, including 50-50s, boardslides, 270s, switch-ups, nollie on, and a few switch tricks.  My biggest focus with each one is keeping the board nice and flat.  Especially with boardslides, spins and switch-ups, I pay special attention to where I turn my head, and how I manipulate my arms, hips, and shoulders.

You can also see my homemade setup. The deck I have is old, beat up, and practically snapped; if you have friends that skate, or especially if you skate yourself, chances are you have one of these lying around.  The tube is just a 4' long, 4" diameter black PVC pipe I bought at Home Depot--I don't recall there being a choice, but make sure you buy thick so it doesn't buckle when you jump on it.

As mentioned in the first post, balancing these tricks is actually much easier at speed, and I can honestly say I owe a lot of my confidence and the successful outcome of many on-snow attempts this season to the time I put in with my balance board.

Hopefully having this visual example clears up any confusion about balance board training...at least my homemade version of it.  So go find $10 and give yourself something to do while you wait for next season.

Snowboarders Don't Workout: Ledge Hops

Snowboarding is highly physical, and often summer finds us shredheads buried indoors with the air condition cranked and the television remote handy; not a pretty picture when next season comes around. Riding out of shape means not only having to work extra hard to catch up to where you were, but can also leave you open for injury.

The Snowboarders Don't Workout is nothing more than a bunch of exercises meant to work the muscles we use when we ride without expensive equipment or fancy gym memberships.  Today's exercise, ledge hops, is a simple exercise meant to build strength and explosiveness in your legs as well as improve your timing and bodily awareness.

Your first task is to find a suitable ledge or similar object, the fallen tree behind my house works great.  Ideally, you want something high enough that it takes a bit of effort for you to jump onto it--something about knee height or maybe taller if you are in good shape.

Straight Jumps (50-50s)

Start with straight jumps.  These are pretty self explanatory; stand at the side of the ledge like you would to ollie into a 50-50.  Imagine you are approaching this feature on snow... you would load up the tail and pop up onto it, catching the rail lightly with your heel or toe (depending on your stance) to keep from sliding off the other side.

Try doing 5 repetitions of this--frontside and backside--for a total of 10; then do it switch.


Spin Jumps (180-on)

Spinning onto rails and boxes can be a challenge.  A lot of it has to do with being able to trust your body to complete the rotation on.  Practicing this stationary on a ledge is a low consequence way to dial in how you position your head, arms, and shoulders to lock in a proper 180-on.

Again, visualizing that you are riding up to a real feature on snow, do 5 rotations spinning frontside and backside (a total of 10) and then repeat switch.

As you get comfortable with this, start throwing in 180-pretzel-outs where you spin the opposite 180 of the feature that you did on to it (landing in your original stance).  You can even take it one step further to 360-pretzel-outs.

One-legs (boardslides)

While doing this exercise won't teach you how to lock in or balance a boardslide, it can help you become more confident approaching taller feature.  It will also build up the muscles in each leg individually.

From your imaginary stance, ollie onto the ledge and shift yourself so you land sideways on your lead leg.  You will have to play around with your arms and shoulders to get the balance just right.  Especially with frontside boardslides, play around with your upper body.

Watch some videos and try to emulate the body position of your favorite riders' boardslides; Lucas Magoon has a killer front board:

Do these one-legs 5 times both frontside and backside, then repeat switch.  Feeling saucy? Throw in some 270-outs to nail down your technique.

If you follow this workout to a T, you will have hopped onto your chosen ledge or feature 60 times. Feel free to add or subtract repetitions as you see fit.

Even if this exercise won't necessarily help you land these tricks, a day of shred equals jumping hundreds of times; doing ledge hops onto a feature much higher than what you generally hit will leave you far more prepared for your first run of 2011.

Skateboarding

One thing all snowboarders have to realize is that the sport as we know it would not exist if it weren't for skateboarding.  All of the tricks, all of the features, all of the style--it was all pioneered from skate influences; so, returning to our roots makes perfect sense once the snow melts.  Take a look at the most obvious off-season activity a snowboarder can partake in: skateboarding.
Skateboarding itself has many different variations depending on your skill level and what you are looking to get out of it going into the season.  You get to choose between shortboards, longboards, and a more recent snowboard-inspired alternative called the Freebord.

Shortboarding is by far the most accessible option for most.  Complete decks are relatively affordable, and with several options for deck width and wheel size you can customize your shortboard for just about any riding style be it cruising around town, ripping up transition, or technical rail and flatland tricks.

Shortboards serve as great off-season trainers due the technical movements required to land tricks.   Mastering even basic tricks with a shortboard will have a dramatic impact on your overall balance, timing, and help make control of your lower body (hips, knees and ankles) more precise.

If where you live summer temperatures average 115ºF--like say, the desert--grab your shortboard and look for an indoor skatepark nearby... just pray that their AC is working.

Remember that shortboards aren't very stable when you start going fast, and while some of the more talented skaters can take on the steepest hills of San Francisco at full speed, the rest of us will more then likely be paying a visit to the hospital or at the very least the local drugstore to buy up their stock of band-aids and Neosporin.

If you love to point it down double diamonds and high speed snowboarding is your thing, consider a longboard instead.

Longboards are much wider, much longer, and therefore much more stable than their shortboard counterparts.  Turn any local hill into a full speed snowboard run with a longboard so you can experience the wind in your hair and the thrill of carving with every turn.  They also work for cruising.

The downside to longboarding is usually the cost.  Most run at over $100.  Also keep in mind that since these boards let you get going pretty darn fast, which can turn into something really painful if you aren't experienced.

A few years ago some engineers got together and incorporated the lateral slide (sliding sideways) that makes snowboarding so unique into longboarding to create the Freebord.

The motions of Freebording are by far the closest you can get to snowboarding on pavement, which is why they have been slowly but surely catching on in the industry.

Freebord Team Highlight Reel from Freebord Mfg. on Vimeo.
  

Three things that are holding the invention back: first, the start up cost is close to and in many cases over $200; second, friction from sliding sideways wreaks havoc on urethane wheels and you will likely need to replace them often; third, controlling a Freebord is not anything like controlling a snowboard where you manipulate edge pressure to create turns and can teach some bad habits.

Even so, there is no denying that Freebording is a fun new alternative to ease that snowboard craving during the summer months.

Well, what are you waiting for?  We've still got a few months of summer ahead of us; head to your local skate shop and get at it!

Think Thank Presents 'Right Brain, Left Brain'

The right side of the brain houses creativity, the "what-if"; It let's us dream, imagine, envision.  The left side of the brain houses our logical thought, the "how"; it's where we build and implement the designs of our creative mind.  In snowboarding, you put them both together, and you will find progression.

Think Thank is one of the most innovative film crews in snowboarding today.  Not in that they hit the biggest shit, or can recite the manual for Final Cut Pro by memory, but because they've always been able to land that new trick on that never-before-seen spot.

If ever a crew knew how to use both sides of their brain to make snowboard magic it's Think Thank.  This years video, dubbed Right Brain, Left Brain, wants to show you how they do it.

Right Brain Left Brain trailer from Jesse Burtner on Vimeo.

From the Think Thank site:

"Think Thank goes straight to the dome with "Right Brain Left Brain" Meticulously messy, precisely unpredictable and controlled chaos; snowboarding is everything and can do anything.

Such a lofty pursuit takes both halves of one's brain. Think Thank is taking the time this season to pull our brains apart, examine the differences and then put them back stronger than ever. Creative control concisely conjured for cuticle carousing co-opting corrosive comatose inducing creatures.

Thanks again brain!"

Right Brain, Left Brain will be hitting shops this fall, of course, but why wait? 

Rumor has it that Think Thank members are known to wander Mt. Hood's summer camps selling early-release copies.  Grab yours at High Cascade or Windells this summer!

Snowboarders Don't Workout: Standing Spins

Snowboarders do not workout.  What business do we have being couped up in a gym? Besides, it's about agility; being able to make quick, precise movements.  What good are 15 reps of heavy squats going to do you when you need to be able to squat hundreds of times per day?  Standing spins work on your endurance, explosiveness and train the muscles that help you spin.

First, go outside where there is a ton of room and nothing to destroy, and let's start this exercise with 180ºs.

In a strong athletic stance (knees bent, weight centered, and back straightened to engage the core) Jump up and rotate 180º frontside or backside, then again back to the starting position; do this 20 times--10 switch, 10 regular.  Now rotate to the opposite side and repeat.

Try to imagine things as though a board were attached to your feet; think about loading your ollie and what edge you would take-off or land on.  Lift your knees up as high as you can to your chest, and focus on making your rotations smooth and controlled.

Ready for 360ºs?

Once again, start in a good, strong stance.  Get ready to really explode; 360ºs require a little bit more airtime and a much faster spin.  It may help you to pre-wind slightly by countering your shoulders opposite the direction you want to spin, turning you body into a kind of loaded spring that will release as you jump and add momentum to your spin. 

Do 10 reps in all four directions: frontside, backside, switch frontside, and switch backside.

Again, think about your edgework; if you were on a snowboard, what edge are you taking off from? What edge should you land on?  Also, take notice of when you are able to spot the landing.  Seeing and knowing where you are going to land is crucial to keeping your spins steezy-stylish.

That's all for standing spins... a total of 80 reps, which can be a lot at first.  Feel free to fudge the numbers as you see fit, just make sure you do an even number of spins in every direction.

Doing this exercise at least a couple times a week will do more than you think.  Of course, spinning will come easier, but overall you'll be able to turn quicker, and absorb choppy terrain better.  With your legs and core all trained up, you won't get nearly as tired nearly as quickly, so no more excuses not to ride until last chair.

Why the New California Snow Helmet Laws Suck

The brilliant heads in Sacramento passed two bills further into the agenda today that require snowboarders 18 years old or younger to don a brainbucket on the slopes at all times.

For the record, I am a proponent of wearing a helmet.  I could care less whether or not you wear one, but I've worn one for three years now, and basically won't ride park without it.

My concern in this case is not the issue of freedom of choice and all of that. The bills only affect minors, so it's no skin off my back.  The fact is minors don't have a choice in a lot of things, hell they can't even vote, so surely they can get used to wearing helmets.  Summer camps like High Cascade have mandated helmets for minors for years now; so really, it's not that radical a concept.

What worries me is making this a government regulation, in other words inviting police officers to come camp at the resort and hand out tickets to people who are on fucking vacation.

I've been on the receiving end of a parent's guest experience gone wrong, and the thought of their day including being hassled by police, fined, and forced to drop a hundred bucks a pop for helmets sends shivers down my spine.

Uniformed "ski cops" are already a common sight at mountains like Breckenridge, and it's sickening.  We don't need big brother watching our ski slopes.  We all know resorts can be stingy as far as protecting their asses from lawsuits, but if the government takes things to a point where snowboarding becomes as enjoyable as getting pulled over in traffic, who is going to go? Nobody, and that is why California resorts aren't stoked on these bills either.

If the bills make it all the way through, I would hate to be a contest kid.  There is nothing like winning a big check, a ride to the bank in a cop car, cashing that check, and paying your $25 fine for not wearing a helmet.

2009 Union Contact

Union has been earning a lot of brownie points in the industry these last few years.  In fact these days it's hard to go somewhere you won't see someone strapped into a pair of Union binders.

The company prides itself on minimalism.  All Union binding models stick to the bare essentials: straps, ratchets, baseplate, highback. Fewer moving parts means less things to adjust or eventually break, and this was the logic behind my purchasing their Contact bindings.

What sets the Contact apart is the baseplate design.  Bindings cause dead spots in a snowboard's natural flex; doesn't matter what binding from what company.

Union's focus with the Contact was to reduce this dead spot as much and possible by replacing the heel of the baseplate with something softer than plastic, but just as tough.

With something far over 100 days of riding on them, here is how my pair held up...

For cruising this is a soft, soft binding.  It's really playful, so for groomers up to a mild diamond they make for all kinds of buttery fun.  This is not the binding for your hard carvers for a couple of reasons; first, the highback on the Contact is shorter than most meaning less response, and second, these bindings can't go very fast in the first place.

Yes, because there is so little between the Contact and your board, nothing to dampen the ride, you will feel everything that happens beneath your feet--every bump, every rut, every rock... everything.

If you are a jib kid, that might make the Contact your kind of binding.

Having so little plastic to hinder flex gives new meaning to the phrase, "becoming one with your board".  You can get pretty technical on these bindings while staying in complete control of what's going on.

Jumps aren't the Contact's strong suit.  You can tweak the shit out of them, making for some really fun methods, mutes, Japans, shifties etc., but all of this has to happen on the smaller side of the spectrum.

I couldn't get bigger kickers to go down on this binding, most of the time due to the chatter on all but the most pristine groomed run-in.  Maybe this is a good thing, since one of the flaws commonly reported in this binding--one that I've experienced a few times myself--is the auto-release of the ratchets.

You heard right, I and several others have had the straps on these bindings release on impact.  This is scary enough on small features, and I'm really happy I didn't get the opportunity to experience it on a larger scale.

Overall the Union Contact was a decent purchase for the price.  They'll treat you right while they hold together, but these bindings aren't "built to last" by any means.  My current pair has been retired since all of the padding in the soft heel has worn down, the straps have split, and now that the ratchets are really beat I just don't trust them anymore.

The fact is, right now the faulty ratchets kill the buy-ability of these bindings.  It isn't something that happens every run, every week, or even every month, but it happened more than once, and really, once is one time too many. They need to be fixed before I use a pair of Union bindings again.