shredding gnar snowboarding blog

The Truth About Powder Skis

David Z — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 18:18:33 +0000

“Are you sure they aren’t just skinny snowboards?”

Powder in Your Face!

Two Snowboard Videos You Should Watch (teasers)

David Z — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 14:00:01 +0000

First on the list is “At Equilibrium”, which looks really rad, in the That’s It documentary-type genre so it’s not going to be your average shred flick.

“These guys love this sport, they are living it”

It’s about the Bulgarian snowboarding scene, from the early days under the Soviets where they had to smuggle snowboards illegally across the borders, to present-day, developing a new class of snowboarder.

Number two this week is the best throwaway footage you’ve ever seen, coming from the Midwest. Lots and lots o’ handrails.

Update: Sierra Snowboards Bankruptcy

David Z — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 13:59:40 +0000

Over at TW Business, Mike Lewis has updates on the Sierra Snowboard bankruptcy which has been rumored for months now, including:

unconfirmed [] reports that the company laid off all of its staff on Friday, August 27.

Two pending cases with Dakine and Burton, the Burton one of course being a pretty popular snafu in the snowsports world.

Sierra’s website is still active but is in bad need of some maintenance. Of course with the loss of the Burton line, the product line available at Sierra is awfully thin but last I checked although 2011 boards were presumably available, nobody had bothered to include stock pictures of the boards.

Stupid Skiers Friday

David Z — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 13:40:45 +0000

Happy Labor Day weekend to those of you in the U.S. Friday means it’s time for stupidity!

At every rail jam, someone has to try and gap the rail. Amiright? It’s like trying to ollie the slow sign: if you’re gonna try it, you better be able to do it. Otherwise you get uberpwnd by an inanimate object, which incidentally is why you’ll probably never see me trying to ollie the slow sign.

In other news I’ll be on vacation through Tuesday, limited or no blogging but you can reach me on teh twitter @agnarchy.

Powder in Your Face!

David Z — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 00:53:56 +0000

No rails, wall-rides, shopping carts or barrel taps. All backcountry, all the time: powder in your face and hucking cliffs. And with a nice little ditty for a soundtrack. That about sums up this little short from Chumpy.

Via Whitelines.

Skate Update

David Z — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 14:16:15 +0000

It turns out you can teach an old dog new tricks. Just so happens that it’s pretty difficult, and it takes a lot of time and patience. I stand by my previous statement that skateboarding is the hardest sport I’ve ever participated in.

I was hoping to have progressed a little further but for now this will have to do. I’m able to ollie bigger and more consistently, so that’s a nice touch. I don’t think the pop is the problem, but I could definitely do a better job drawing the board up with my front foot. Like before, the video ain’t much, but any advice is welcome as long as you’re not a d-bag about it.

Amateur Snowboarding – The Movie

David Z — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 03:31:58 +0000

Because they snowboard like, well, like you probably do.

Lots of 50-50′s with the occasional boardslide, no ridonculous spins or massive backcountry booters or double-corks (or single-corks) or insane powder lines in Valdez. Just some kids getting out there and getting some at Bear Creek in PA. Good for them. Enjoy!

Birmingham Rail Jam Update

David Z — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 17:53:40 +0000

Here’s the official O-Park promo for the Birmingham Rail Jam happening September 25, 2010. Thanks to Jon Tollefson for passing this along.

Props to O-Park at Otsego Club for putting this together. My schedule has changed slightly, so I’m now a definite “will attend” and an optimistic “maybe will participate” depending on the jet-lag.

And if I’m reading this right, that’s the same Ryan Paul who threw down the $10,000 trick at Mammoth back in May:

Ryan Paul’s $10,000 trick. Mammoth WCI 2010 from Adam Cogley on Vimeo.

La Niña Watch: Winter Forecasts 2010-2011

David Z — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 16:52:30 +0000

Just keeping tabs on that bitch La Niña, trying to figure out what she’s gonna give us this winter. To some, worrying about the forecast for some resort 2,000 miles away and 5 months in the future might seem obsessive. It is.

But you’re trying to figure out where to take your vacation this winter (I’m always trying to figure out where to go next), you’ve gotta keep the long-range forecasts at least in the back of your mind.

If you’re wondering, there was a dusting of snow at Snowbird Resort in Utah last night…

Optimistic winter forecasts for Midwest / Michigan

After a fairly warm & humid summer, I’d really like to get an early snowfall and extended season in Michigan this year, with none of those damned mid-winter thaws that melt everything and turn the slopes in to luge tracks.

For the midwest, the Farmer’s Almanac are fairly consistent the science geeks at the NOAA:

Residents of the upper Midwest and Great Lakes are expected to get the piles of snow that’ll be lacking elsewhere.

The NOAA tells us to expect bouts of extreme cold, but looks like only about a 50% chance of greater-than-average snow fall. However, the study does note that the winter following a La Niña event tends to be snowier in Michigan, so we may also get to look forward to 2012.

May be good for the Cascades & Northern Rockies

From Accuweather, Kirstie Hettinga writes that a senior meteorologist predicts normal to above-normal (20% delta) precipitation for the region:

Certainly for the Cascades in Washington and Oregon and the mountains in Northern California, the Shasta Range and such, this could be a boon for the ski industry

But then again, maybe not. The Farmer’s Almanac is predicting milder temps in the NW.

From On the Snow:

La Nina brought wetter conditions to the Pacific Northwest and northern Rocky Mountains, and drier conditions across the southern tier of the United States those same years.

Perhaps not so good for the Sierras or the Northeast

Mike Pechner reports for KCBS that the most recent La Niña event brought considerably less snowfall to the region, and the Maine Farmer’s Almanac forecasts less snow but wicked colder temperatures for New England.

Stupid Skiers Friday

David Z — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 19:04:03 +0000

After a brief hiatus, Stupid Skiers Friday is back by popular demand… Keep an eye out for “dad” in his wicked cool bumble-bee tuck and Oakley m-frame wraparound shades circa 1994.

Dick. We’ll resume next week with another installment of stupid skiers. In the meantime, learn how learn from Dad’s mistake, about the 30-second mark.