Kelvin Wu in his factory, team rider Denis Prevost assisting the craftsman at work.
2016 line, he’s creating 10 limited-edition snowboards with top-sheets made of whitebark pine and an additional five custom boards for the Jackson Hole Mountain Resort’s 50th Anniversary. They will be for sale at Hole In The Wall snowboard shop. Two of them will be using topsheets made with beetle-killed white bark from Casper Bowl. Some might argue that sourcing a rare,
Wade McKoy photos
ing customs skis and sit-skis, Wu plans to host a series of workshops, teaching clients how to make their own skis. Kelvin hopes to keep Maiden small in order to provide a personal relationship with each customer and to maintain the uniqueness and craftsmanship of every ski. Mikey Franco, owner of Franco Snowshapes at the Maiden factory, takes handcrafting to an even deeper level. For the
endangered tree that only grows above 8,000 feet goes against the grain. But Franco wants to help call attention to the plight of this beleaguered tree – a species dying by the millions from naturally occurring beetle infestation bolstered by climatechange – by felling and milling some already dead trees at the Jackson Hole Mountain Resort. After milling the logs, he planed them, cut out the most attractive slivers for top-sheet use, and sanded those into a veneer. As a final touch, he inscribed GPS coordinates of the tree. The rider can visit the stump that’s now part of their new snowboard. There are plenty of cheaper skis and snowboards, but they don’t tell the same story. The connection between the buyer, the company, and the skis makes a custom ski priceless. Don’t take our word for what makes custom skis special. Visit the Igneous Factory on Gregory Lane or the Maiden Factory on Deer Drive and see for yourself what custom skis are about. They’re used to people stopping by; they’ll be happy to for the visit! Hailing from Washington, D.C., Liza Sarychev grew up skiing the icy bumps of Whitetail, Pennsylvania, and settled in Jackson in the winter of 2010-11. She competes on the Freeride World Qualifier and hopes to eventually fuse her ski career with one in product development.
Mikey Franco with top sheets and other raw materials. w w w. j h s k i e r. n e t
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