Method Mag Issue 21.3

21.3

R E A L

S N O W B O A R D I N G

A public service announcement from Ethan Morgan and

Don’t forget to pack your suitcase, because it’s finally time to leave 2020 behind.

See ya!

6 MM M213 COVER OUTSIDE.indd Wszystkie strony

09.12.2020 23:43

Pic: Ponchikz | Blue Tomato Team Rider: Toni Kerkelä

Blue Tomato Book | blue-tomato.com/book instagram.com/bluetomato | #yourrideourmission

6 MM M213 COVER INSIDE.indd Wszystkie strony

09.12.2020 23:32

M213 ads.indd 3

09.12.2020 16:39

M213 ads.indd 4

09.12.2020 16:39

M213 ads.indd 5

09.12.2020 16:39

M213 ads.indd 6

09.12.2020 16:39

M213 ads.indd 7

09.12.2020 16:39

M213 ads.indd 8

09.12.2020 16:39

M213 ads.indd 9

09.12.2020 16:39

M213 ads.indd 10

09.12.2020 16:39

M213 ads.indd 11

09.12.2020 16:39

M213 ads.indd 12

09.12.2020 16:39

M213 ads.indd 13

09.12.2020 16:39

PHOTO:

N I C K K H AT TA R

PROOFED_M213 HELLO.indd 14

RIDER:

JOHAN ROSEN

09.12.2020 20:44

S P OT:

W H I ST L E R , CA N A DA

PROOFED_M213 HELLO.indd 15

TRICK:

METHOD

09.12.2020 20:44

PHOTO:

I G O R S M U R OV

PROOFED_M213 HELLO.indd 16

RIDER:

PONCHIKZ

09.12.2020 20:44

S P OT:

Z

K I R OV S K , R U S S I A

PROOFED_M213 HELLO.indd 17

TRICK:

B E I N G A K I C K A S S P H O TO G R A P H E R

09.12.2020 20:44

PHOTO:

TIM ZIMMERMAN

PROOFED_M213 HELLO.indd 18

RIDER:

Y L FA R Ú N A R S D Ó T T I R

09.12.2020 20:44

S P OT:

M I N N E S O TA , U S A

PROOFED_M213 HELLO.indd 19

TRICK:

ONE FOOT TUCKKNEE

09.12.2020 20:44

EDITORIAL

21.3

Have you had one of those Corona tests where the stick goes up your nose and then rummages around inside your brain? Oh man. I don’t know who’s lurking behind those hazmat suits, but judging by their technique, I reckon they’re usually employed as chimney sweeps. I’ve had two of these tests now, and they’re pretty weird. I didn’t even know something could go that far up my nose. If only my 7-year-old self had known how many more bogeys I could have found if I’d just pushed that little bit further.

Despite looking very hard, they didn’t find any Coronas lurking inside whatever cavity it was they invaded inside my head, which I suppose is a good thing. I’ve had two of these tests now, as well as two of the ones where you get the back of your throat stabbed, and I’m fucking over it.

This emotional state leads me nicely to our cover. Here at Method, we felt that this shot of Ryan Paul was a pretty fitting image to close out Volume 21, and also to close out 2020. To say that this year has been a bit of a bitch is putting it lightly. From environmental disasters to societal disasters, our planet is not in a great state right now, and there is much uncertainty as to what the future will bring, especially for our small industry. To make matters worse, I’ve also spotted a bunch of spelling mistakes I’ve made in the last two issues. I know, right? Considering the amount of proofreading we do, these errors cause me actual physical pain, especially when they’re the names of my friends. I’ll probably make some in this issue as well. All you can do in situations like these is throw up your middle finger, say ‘Up yours’ with a grin, and crack on with it.

Winter is finally here, which means it’s time to get after it wherever and whenever we can. Be smart, be safe, check in on your friends and neighbours, support snowboard brands, and we’ll see you out there, folks.

PUBLISHER/CEO: Chris McAlpine chriso@methodmag.com ART DIRECTOR: Maciej Przężak @pwee3000 ONLINE EDITOR: Will Radula-Scott will@method.tv Intern Caitlin Murray caitlin@methodmag.com CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS: Igor Smurov, Tim Zimmerman, Nick Khattar, Markus Rohrbacher, Theo Acworth, Stephan Jende, Jordan Enge, E-Stone, Shane Charlebois, Vincent Skoglund, James North, Oli Gagnon, Max Zebe, Brandon Huttenlocker, Aaron Schwartz, Matt Foley, Gill Montgomery, Kenta RAW Matsuda, Ben Girard, Benjamin Littler, Silvano Zeiter, Dominic Zimmermann, Troy Tanner, Tim Schiphorst, Niklas

PROOFED_21 3 EDITORIAL.indd 20

That’s about exactly how it went down. I still don’t know if he was insulting me, you, all of us or just having a good time with some ridiculous shit. I love Ryan. We were shooting Savannah Shinske on a hill behind a bar in Minneapolis when RP set up a winch in the parking lot & built a bump to get this flying bird shot. Everyone in the bar heard the winch & came out to watch. That ended with Ryan asking the owner of the bar if he could jump off the roof. They were down, so it happened.

I’m still crazy stoked to get my first Method cover, I think a lot of people are going to dig it & laugh.

- Tim Zimmerman

Theo. x

EDITOR IN CHIEF: Theo Acworth theo@methodmag.com

“Hey Zim, I got a board at a thrift store yesterday. I really want you to get this shot of me flipping you off.”

- Ryan Paul

Nischke, Perly, Igor Swieczak, Perly, E-Stone, Matt Georges CONTRIBUTING WRITERS: Peter Limberg, E-Stone, Jake Simpson, Joe Simpson, Kyle HansenKhan, Darrah Reid-McLean, Perly, Halldor Helgason, Fridge, Tom Copsey, Billy Morgan, Kennedi Deck, Bob Plumb, Jess Kimura, Sparrow Knox, Ylfa Rúnarsdóttir, Niels Schack PUBLISHER: Method Media Ltd CEO: Chris McAlpine CTO: Steve Dowle FINANCE DIRECTOR: Steve Dowle ADVERTISING: Chris McAlpine chriso@methodmag.com Skype: chrisomcalpine +46 729 338 556 DISTRIBUTION: Steve Dowle steve@methodmag.com PRINTERS: Buxton Press Palace Road Buxton SK17 6AE United Kingdom

DISTRIBUTION: Spatial Global Ltd Spatial House Willow FarmBusiness Park Castle Donington Derby - DE742TW United Kingdom METHOD MEDIA LTD Method Media Pantiles Chambers 85 High St Royal Tunbridge Wells TN1 1XP England Tel:(+44) (0) 871-218-9978 COPYRIGHT 2019 METHOD MEDIA LTD. NO LIABILITY IS ACCEPTED FOR THE ACCURACY OF THE INFORMATION CONTAINED HEREIN, NOR ARE ANY GUARANTEES GIVEN BY THE MAGAZINE. COPYRIGHT WORLDWIDE OF ORIGINAL MATERIAL IS HELD BY METHOD MEDIA LTD AND PERMISSION MUST BE OBTAINED FOR ANY USE, TRANSMISSION, STORAGE OR REPRODUCTION. OPINIONS EXPRESSED IN THIS MAGAZINE ARE NOT NECESSARILY SHARED BY THE PUBLISHER. METHOD MEDIA LTD ASSUMES NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE LOSS OR DAMAGE OF UNSOLICITED MATERIAL. THANKS FOR CHOOSING METHOD MAG. WE SURE HOPE YOU LIKE IT!

10.12.2020 13:27

FW20_AS

10:15

Revelstoke - Canada Victor Daviet - Assassin 159

Photographer : Erik Hoffman

FW20_ASSASSIN_METHOD.indd 1 PROOFED_21 3 EDITORIAL.indd 21

25/08/2020 13:27 19:41 10.12.2020

5 Tips for getting through life - Enjoy the time with your friends and family.

- Enjoy the little things in life.

- Don’t take things too seriously.

- Find something you really like and go after it.

- Have fun while you can.

5 tips for slamming hard - Make sure you have ice at home.

- It’s smart to have a good amount of sport creams at home (hot or cold).

- Get yourself prepared for the detonation.

- Hope nothing serious happens.

- You gotta pay to play.

5 favourite foods - Traditional Austrian cooked deer.

- Ramen soup.

- Chinese hot pot.

- Pizza.

- Apfelstrudel.

5 things that are totally overrated - Netflix.

- The salary our politicians get.

- The price of train tickets.

- The amount of money people spend for Christmas.

- Hype for scooters.

5 memories from your first filming trip to the Czech Republic - I was so hyped to go on a trip with Marc Swoboda and Domi, since I’d looked up to both of them since I started snowboarding.

- I met the whole Vans team because they were filming for Landline, this was so cool.

- I had beers with Alex Pfeffer in the lobby, then Ojo came and we had some Absinthe together.

- There was a World Cup contest at the same time but I made the decision to go to the Czech Republic, and it was the right one.

* P H OTO : M A R KU S R O H R BA C H E R

5 things you like about working with trees - But being out in nature.

- Riding around with a tractor.

- Working with my friends and having a beer with after a long day.

- Being completely exhausted after a day of work.

- Seeing animals in the forest.

5 tips to stay ripped - Go skate.

- Go hike.

- Go run.

- Go snowboarding.

- Just hang out with your friends and do sports.

5 THINGS

21.3

5 Things you love about your unofficial big brother Dominik Wagner - He’s always down to go snowboard or skateboard - He makes me think about the food I eat.

- He’s always fun to hang out with.

- He helped me a lot in snowboarding and life in general.

- He made me start skateboarding again 6 years ago which I’m really thankful for!

PROOFED_M213 5 THINGS.indd 22

5 things we should know about Tape Homie - Founded by Marc Schumy and myself.

- We bought a camcorder on our own and then just went around Austria and tried to film some stuff.

- There’s a new video coming out [Ed. It’s out now on Methodmag, go watch it!]

- Hopefully we‘ll keep on doing it cause it’s fun and a nice easy environment around all the homies.

- Tapehomie is a non-profit but 100% passion organisation which we are really proud of.

5 tips for annoying Knut [Nitro TM and handplant master] - Knut actually seems to be a human who can’t be annoyed by anything, or at least I never saw it!

09.12.2020 20:55

RIDER RENE RINNEKANGAS PHOTO TATU TOIVANEN BOARD ARTIFACT BINDING BLACK LABEL ROMESNOWBOARDS.COM @ROMESNOWBOARDS

PROOFED_M213 5 THINGS.indd 23

09.12.2020 20:55

BAR TALK

This interview was conducted in Chair 9, Glacier WA, during the weekend of the 34th Legendary Banked Slalom at Mount Baker.

Interview and Photo: Theo Acworth

So I gather you’ve got a new pro model this year, and that you’ve had one for the last five decades? That’s pretty astonishing.

Well one really snuck in there in the late 80’s, and also the early 00s.

Still a pretty good solid accomplishment. How are you feeling about the latest Telos board?

It’s super fun. I’ve been riding them in the backcountry for a bit and was involved in the brand four or five years ago, and we got them made at the GP87 factory so I knew then that they were fucking good boards. Riding today was rad. The first runs, I was tripping. We were riding one of Craig Kelly’s favourite runs, it was rad. I’ve ridden a lot of different pro models over the years up there, but this one felt sick. Just something about it.

How are you feeling about snowboarding right now?

I’ve seen that kid Arthur Longo, that’s got me stoked. Not like I’m gonna go do that shit, but the kids are alright, ya know? Things are gonna be ok. We’ve all ridden hits like that. Someone can watch that and think that they can go and do it. You can’t do what Travis Rice does, you just cut that off. It’s like watching Laird Hamilton surf. There’s just no association. I love those shots of Arthur.

21.3

It just makes you want to ride.

I messaged him on instagram and told him I loved what he was doing. You see the best of a rider between the last jump, and the chairlift. All the weird shit. So that was cool. He wrote back and was stoked. It’s cool to see that.

It should be that simple. It was simplistic but barbaric. He

PROOFED_213 BART ALK.indd 24

just catches a perfect transition, it’s rad.

What are you up to after this?

Maybe going to Mammoth and then back home to Hawaii to get into some other board sports. But I’d like to get involved more with GP87, it’s gnarly cool. The D-Day boards were made there. I’ve ridden a lot of high performance boards, and these Telos boards are just really good.

What do you think of Methodmag?

Well the name is awesome, I think it’s the go-to mag for a lot of people.

That’s what we want it to be. Ok we’ll round things out with a couple of quickfire questions. Frontside or backside?

Frontside for snowboarding, backside for skateboarding.

What’s the last book you read?

It was something by Paulo Coelho, the guy who wrote The Alchemist. I can’t remember the name right now.

What’s the best thing you can cook?

Spaghetti carbonara, the Italian way with no butter. And I’ve been cooking really good chicken lately.

Anything you want to say to snowboarding?

Don’t blow it.

The day after this interview, Mike and Rasums Ostergaard were both thrown off the mountain for riding without passes.

09.12.2020 20:58

@DEELUXEBOOTS —— DEELUXE.COM

BRAND0N COCARD

TEAM FAVORITE

T EbAloODLINE PROOFED_213 BART ALK.indd 25

TSUTO MU NAKATA

ID M 09.12.2020 20:58

SNOWBOARD THERAPY

WORDS: PETER LIMBERG PORTRAIT: TIM ZIMMERMAN ACTION SHOT: JORDAN ENGER

At the beginning of Winter 2019, I lost someone who meant a great deal to me, and it was a massive impact on my life. I had a difficult time dealing with this heavy loss, and it had spiralled me into a dark place. The grieving process that manifested at first was not a healthy one.

My hobbies became less interesting, I started abusing substances as a way to cope, I made poor decisions and wasn’t allowing myself to take care of myself and my mental health. The path I chose to take was very bumpy, and I was bound for a large crash. Something had to change, or I was going to spiral out of control.

21.3

The New Year was here, and around that time, I went on my first filming trip of the season. I was uncertain about going on the trip, but off I went with nothing to lose.

We went to my hometown in Wisconsin, where I had a list of ideas that I’ve been wanting to do for years. The first clip I got on the trip was a pivotal point for me. The

PROOFED_21 3 SNOWBOARD THERAPHY.indd 26

feeling that came after landing that first shot was the best thing I had felt in a long time. It was within that moment a switch turned on; I had two options, either continue down this dark path of feeling sorry for myself, or use my passion for snowboarding as an outlet for dealing with this loss. I chose snowboarding. I told myself I wanted to be surrounded by my best friends and positivity. With this change in mentality, it led to me having the most gratifying and productive winters I have ever experienced.

In leaning on snowboarding and all it brings as an outlet; it improved my mental health, and I gained a much greater appreciation towards snowboarding and simultaneously myself. I realize how beneficial it is to have something like snowboarding as a kind of medium and outlet when you are going through a difficult time. Snowboarding was my way of expression and helped me work through the process of grieving, bringing me through to the other side of it as a stronger human. I hope this experience might help as an example to others who may be going through a difficult time and encourage them to use snowboarding as an outlet to manage whatever they are battling with.

09.12.2020 21:07

WE DIDN’T SET OUT TO REINVENT THE BINDING— WE SET OUT TO PERFECT IT. Introducing the all-new aluminum A-Series & composite C-Series RIDE binding collections.

PROOFED_21 3 SNOWBOARD THERAPHY.indd 27

09.12.2020 21:07

INTERVIEW WITH E-STONE PHOTO: SHANE CHARLEBOIS

PRODUCTION VALUES: BOMB HOLE

21.3

What’s the best thing about making a podcast?

This is kind of a two-part answer, but for me, the first part is getting to sit down with all these interesting people and have a rad conversation. Whether it’s reconnecting with an old friend or someone I don’t really know that well.

During Covid, I guess you just don’t get the opportunity to sit down with people too much anymore so maybe that has something to do with it, but every time we are recording I find myself thinking “Damn this is so sick”.

Having a 2-3 hour in-depth conversation about real shit is just really cool and super fun. The second part of what I like best is all of the feedback from the listeners/viewers.

Getting a DM from someone saying that a guest talking about mental health or addiction really helped them seek out help for their own issues is really rewarding. I guess as a photographer I have caught myself thinking that shooting photos doesn’t really do much to help people, so to hear that a conversation that Chris and I had in his garage with a guest actually helped someone is really amazing. Even just DM’s where someone said we made them laugh or helped them get through a boring day of work or a long drive is really cool. Connecting with the snowboard community is definitely one of the coolest things about doing it.

What’s the worst thing about making a podcast?

I guess the worst thing about it is it’s a lot more work than Chris and I ever imagined it would be. We really want to do it right, and we started with no idea as to what we were doing. To do it right takes a lot of time and dedication. We

PROOFED_M213 PROD VALUES 2.indd 28

have the attitude that you get back what you put in, so we are really trying to go hard and make this something special. To do that you have to put a lot in. It’s all about delivering consistently, so this means no matter what, we have to have a finished product every Wednesday, without fail. No matter what you have going on in your life we have to get this thing done, and there is a lot to the process.

From figuring out who the guest will be, to recording for a full day, and then all the editing for the video/youtube side right down to the little details like descriptions and show notes. We really want to do it right, so there’s a lot of attention to detail. The week just flies by and then boom before you know it it’s Tuesday night and the episode is going live the next morning, and we have to be ready and have all of the assets dialled. Without fail we have to go live every Wednesday at 6am. This makes time just fly by.

It feels like we just started this thing, and in the blink of an eye, we are 33 episodes deep and 7 months have gone by. It’s crazy. The last little thing is how draining a 3-4 hour stimulating conversation can be. When we get done recording an episode we are just mentally drained, and that’s harsh on anyone you need to talk to afterwards as you are over talking and just want to shut down. That’s all pretty minor, and these things are really not that bad. I think Chris and I have found that we really love doing this, so it’s kind of hard to find any real negatives. I think we both have always liked to banter so this is kind of what we were made for!!! Hopefully, people stay stoked and don’t get sick of hearing us talk shit.

09.12.2020 21:38

SEARCH FURTHER

© J E R O M E TA N O N

D RY - B R E AT H A B L E - D U R A B L E - ST R E TC H

N I L S A RV I D S S O N - S E A R C H S E R I E S M O U N TA I N W E A R CHECK OUT NISSE IN RIPCURL.COM

170x240_method_NAN.indd 1

PROOFED_M213 PROD VALUES 2.indd 29

25/09/2020 11:46

09.12.2020 21:38

How long does it take to edit each episode, and who cuts it?

We have had three editors going at a time at one point.

Justin Myer, Harry Hagen and Paul Osbourne. We were trying to get ahead for winter. Now we just have one, Paul Osbourne AKA China town Paul. He helped film Tangle and many other Snowboardermag projects but now is a team member of the Bomb Hole.

Is there anyone running the cameras, or do you just hit record and then go?

We have 4 cameras on tripods with no one operating them.

We just hit record, and it’s on!

Does the garage studio stay up each week, or does it get taken down?

Unfortunately for Chris, it’s a permanent fixture in his garage. It’s really just a desk and chairs added to his garage.

We didn’t do anything special to make it a set, it’s just what his garage looked like.

PRODUCTION VALUES: BOMB HOLE

Have there been any significant technical changes to your workflow since the first episode?

So many. We had no clue what we were doing when we started, so it’s been a learn-as-you-go program. We just try to learn from every episode and figure out how to make them better and better. For the first couple, the sound was not so good, and our tripods weren’t level. We actually had a GoPro balanced on a spoon for the first couple episodes.

For the first couple of months we were borrowing Beresford’s camera then we finally dropped in and got our own. We also just try to listen to each final product and then talk about what we can do better as well as take feedback from listeners and see if we should implement it. The goal is to just really master our craft and make the Bomb Hole the best it can be.

Who’s been a standout guest so far?

I’m going to go with Lizard King and Sage Kotsenburg.

Both for way different reasons, but watch/listen to the episodes and you will prob see why these are a couple of our favorites.

After the success of yours and Rav’s bayou song, do you have any plans to record a new intro for the podcast?

I didn’t have plans for that but now that you mention it maybe we should! Rav has invited me down to his music place in SLC. I need to get down there and record!

21.3

Despite us running many of your photos and many shots of Chris, there is not a single Method sticker on the wall, what’s up with that!?

Oh damn. Send one over and we will stick one up! Those

PROOFED_M213 PROD VALUES 2.indd 30

stickers were all already there in Chris’s garage before it was the Bomb Hole, so I guess you will have to ask Chris what’s up with that! I got you though, send one out!!

What’s the maximum temperature that’s been reached in the booth? It looks hot under those lights.

Dude so damn hot. SLC can get into the 100’s F in the summer so in July it really heats up. Serious sweat box. I’m so glad it’s winter now. We have to heat the spot now but it’s so much better than sitting there just sweating it out in a three-hour interview. I run hot too, so I was just dying.

Chris took his shirt off in one episode, when will we get to see you do the same?

Shit he just wants to show off all his tattoos. Now that it’s 30 degree’s F in the booth I don’t think it will happen any time soon. Plus I don’t have any tats.

Let’s talk cheddar biscuits, how much are you guys getting for each episode? Is it enough to turn this into a full-time gig?

It changes from episode to episode based on sponsors.

Patreon has been huge as we get support from the listeners, and that really helps make it happen. We are basically taking what comes in and putting it back into the show so we can keep making it better. We just dropped in on some equipment to do a live show, so look out for that soon! Going to be a little looser and more about the banter instead of just a guest interview. We are pretty stoked to get it going. As we grow, we just put it back into the Bomb Hole so we can make it better. Paying editors and keeping merch stocked in our store. It’s pretty much been a full-time gig since we started as it takes a lot to make it happen. We both have hardly had time to do anything since we launched the Bomb Hole. We are putting in the time and we don’t plan on going anywhere. Oh shit did I just pull a Louie Vito and dodge the actual cheddar bisque question? My bad.

Last words are yours: We are so hyped on all the support we have got from listeners and viewers. We are just a couple dipshits in the garage talking shit, so it’s rad to get all the DMs every week from people letting us know they are liking what we are doing. We are super thankful for the Patreon members that really help keep this thing going. The Bomb Hole is sponsored by the viewers, and that support means the world to us. We plan on keeping this thing going for as long as people will listen to us, so count on us every Wednesday to come through!!

“You get back what you put in” - Sage Kotsenburg

09.12.2020 21:38

PROOFED_M213 PROD VALUES 2.indd 31

09.12.2020 21:38

PRODUCTION VALUES: HUNTING FOR BLUEBIRDS

Interview with Vincent Skoglund by Chris McAlpine

Firstly, congrats on your book Hunting for Bluebirds. Can you give us a brief description of what’s inside?

Thanks! Yes, the photographs were shot during the ‘90s and ‘00s. “Hunting for Bluebirds” is a true photography book, in a classical sense. The design is very sleek inside and I let the images do the talking. To not distract the viewers’ journey through the book I tried to make a poetic sequence of 162 images, a visual narrative. It’s an attempt to capture the sensations that signified this time.

How long did you spend making this book, and what was the process?

I have dug deep into the archives and edited from tens of thousands of slides, prints and negatives shot during my most intensive years as a snowboard photographer. After this, I narrowed it all down to 800. This is the material that I have used to build the sequence in the book. It took forever for me to be somewhat pleased with the sequence. That is what took the most time. All in all, I’ve spent 10 years on this. Happy to press print, to say the least.

21.3

How did you select the photos you used in the book?

For me, it was very important to make the book stand on its own. It’s not an action magazine in book format, or a portfolio of my own best shots. I wanted the images to fit together. That’s the most important thing. So a lot of my

PROOFED_M213 PROD VALUES.indd 32

favourite shots didn’t even make it in. It’s not so much who or where that’s important, more the vibe and the colours and compositions. I think it works well at telling the story of the time. Even if the viewers don’t know anything about snowboarding or it’s people, I think it works. So ultimately it’s about creating something very personal that can tell a unique story. This makes the culture about snowboarding and it’s beginnings just a little bit richer.

You were the first senior photographer at Method Mag when it started as a print mag in 2003. What do you remember from that time?

I was travelling like a madman at the time. Working with magazines all over. Method had a raw energy to it.

How can people get their hands on this magical book of snowboard history?

You can get the book and other fun stuff at HuntingForBluebirds.com I will ship anywhere! I think the book should have a place in every snowboarder’s bookshelf. I will also start to sell my edition photography on that site, as a collaboration with Gallery Steinsland Berliner who I am represented by.

Follow what I am up to: @VincentSkoglundStud

09.12.2020 21:36

PROOFED_M213 PROD VALUES.indd 33

09.12.2020 21:36

FULL ZOOM

*PHOTO: JA M E S N O R T H

21.3

PROOFED_M213 FULL ZOOM.indd 34

So this was hilarious, but also a bit sketchy at the time.

I’d just hit this rail with a metal cheesgrater inrun with no snow [Ed. you can see this in MAT£S Canada]. It was next to this school, and these kids kept poking their heads out to see what we were doing, so we thought fuck it, we’ll poke our heads in and see what they’re doing. It was a music class. There was a drum kit, a guy on the piano, a chick on the bass, a guy on guitar. And I just went in and started playing the drums. One of the kids stopped playing completely, but the one on guitar kept going with me. After a little bit I thought that maybe it wasn’t a good idea, and we left. But it’s all on video. There was no teacher, but one appeared as we were leaving and came outside, and we scattered pretty quickly. They were probably just thinking ‘What the fuck is going on’. - Sparrow Knox

09.12.2020 21:21

2020_Arb

BRYAN IGUCHI F T. A N N E X S N O W B O A R D DESIGNED

K O L E S P : A S H E R

P : S E A N

B L A C K

BY BRYAN IGUCHI

2020_Arbor_Method_Mag_EU_Guch.indd PROOFED_M213 FULL ZOOM.indd 35 1

11/20/20 10:30 AM 09.12.2020 21:21

HOT/NOT

SUPPORTING SNOWBOARD BRANDS CAITLIN MURRAY’S GNARLY SCAR FALAFELS ALL THE SNOWBOARD VIDEOS COMING OUT RIGHT NOW SUBSCRIBING TO METHOD CLOUDS SHINY THINGS OUR NEW BIODEGRADABLE PACKAGING COLLABORATION

The opinion column you never asked for is back!

We actually didn’t do one of these in our last issue, and in the first issue we even forgot to tell you that these are the opinions of the magazine, and not the opinions of the people in the photograph we choose to run next to them. Doesn’t our professionalism just blow you away? But hey, we’re snowboarders, so if you expect anything else, you’re deluded. Now go burn some socks or something.

*PHOTO: OLI GAG NON

21.3

MAGS BEING RETURNED TO US DUE TO SHOP CLOSURES CORONAVIRUS ARROGANCE TWITTER DEADLINES WASPS CANCEL CULTURE DIOR’S $6500 SNOWBOARD FACTUALLY CORRECT PHOTO CAPTIONS

PROOFED_M213 HOTNOT.indd 36

09.12.2020 21:41

DANNY DAVIS

PXV2 // SPLIT LL GREEN ION

PROOFED_M213 HOTNOT.indd 37

09.12.2020 21:41

What is DUSK? DUSK is a Sunglasses that company me and Max Zebe started this year in the first lockdown in Austria.

What was the motivation to start the brand?

When the lockdown started Max stayed at my place and we talked every day for hours that we wanna start our own brand. We were writing names and ideas everywhere in the room and just got obsessed with the idea to have our own company. One day Max just said “Lets make sunglasses”. I was down with it, so that was the starting point for DUSK. Who are the people behind DUSK? Everybody who has some shades is behind DUSK. Where do you recommend wearing DUSK eyes?

I mean you could wear them wherever you want, it’s your choice. They have UV protection so it doesn’t matter if you are snowboarding on the glacier or lying on the beach in the sun.

Your visuals are quite varied, do you have a definite direction you want to take the brand, or are you keeping things loose?

I would say we have a direction we would like to go, but we are open to everything that happens right now and taking as much input as we can get. We are new to this business so we have to learn a lot and I think this will shape us and hopefully put us in the right direction.

LITTLE LABELS

21.3

INTERVIEW WITH MARC SCHUMY

How many shapes are you making at the moment?

Right now we have one shape in three different colourways, but we are working on next season’s collection with more shapes coming.

When can people get their hands on them?

We are already selling online on our website. www.duskeyes.com What’s coming up in the future for DUSK? Hopefully a lot! It’s a tough business for sure, but me and Max are working hard for our little baby and trying to get our foot in the door of the sunglasses industry.

Last words are yours.

Thanks everybody for your continued support and thanks Methodmag for the interview.

PROOFED_M213 LITTLE LABELS.indd 38

09.12.2020 21:45

LUCA KUPPELWIESER [ SNOWPARK L A A X ]

PROOFED_M213 LITTLE LABELS.indd 39

09.12.2020 21:45

M

ethod recently had the honour of being the official media partner for a round of ‘Simon Says’ with Mons Røisland, Markus Olimstad, Ulrik Badertscher, Torgeir Bergrem and Ludvig Biltoft. Each player sets a challenge for the others, which are then performed in isolation, so no one has any idea what’s happening until they step into the room and are told. Some challenges are physical, some are mental, and all are hilarious to witness. A highlight was watching them try take off their underwear without removing their legs from their pants. Ludvig was wearing trackpants so had no problems at all, but Mons’ pants were so tight that he resorted to ripping his underwear off his body and over his head. I can’t even remember who won, but was an enjoyable experience to document. - Theo Acworth

SIMON SAYS

21.3

PROOFED_213 SIMON SAYS.indd 40

09.12.2020 21:54

686_MET

G OR E-T EX S MA RTY ® 3-in-1 WEAP O N JACKET

Gig i Ru f / Revel sto ke B C @686

PROOFED_213 SIMON SAYS.indd 686_METHOD_MAG_2020.indd 2 41

09.12.2020 21:54 11/16/20 10:07 AM

D I N O SAU R E X P E R T: CO L E N AV I N D I N O SAU R A S S I STA N T: K E N N E D I D E C K * P H OTO : O L I G A G N O N

Because 2020 has been so shit, we figured you’d all need cheering up, so we asked a bunch of snowboarders to provide us with their favourite jokes. You can try busting these out the next time there’s an awkward silence somewhere. Just a heads up, the silence might get deeper and even more awkward if you do.

Which sex position makes ugly children?

Ask your mother. - Halldor Helgason [legend] How do you get Pikachu on a chairlift?

You poke him on. - Kennedi Deck [crushing it right now] What’s yellow and dangerous?

A banana with a sword - Theo Acworth [struggling to fill pages] In Germany, everyone’s panic-buying sausage and cheese due to the new Lockdown.

It’s the wurst käse scenario. - Tom Copsey [dad] What’s the difference between a snowboarder and extra large pizza?

The pizza can feed a family of 4. - The Internet [yep it’s still a thing] Why did the baker have brown hands?

Because he kneaded a poo. - Billy Morgan [representing Great Britain] What do snowboarders do when they’re really talented?

GoPro - The Internet [this is actually pretty funny] What do you call an unemployed Rasta?

Jah-Bless - Niels Schack [Sweetheart] Why did the toilet paper roll down the hill?

Because it wanted to get to the bottom. - Sparrow Knox [claims his brother Ty invented this one] JOKES PAGE

Shit I don’t really know any jokes! I’m more like... a meme person. - Jess Kimura [meme queen] Why did the golfer wear two pairs of pants?

Because he got a hole in one. - Ylfa Rúnarsdóttir [boss] What’s green and smells like pork?

Kermit the Frog’s finger. - Bob Plumb [comedian]

21.3

Once upon a time, pants and t-shirt were crossing the road. Then a car came and ran over pants. The t-shirt runs over to the pants and says “life is short(s)” - Translated from Icelandic by Fridge. [apparently the original is much funnier]

PROOFED_M213 JOKES.indd 42

09.12.2020 21:54

PROOFED_M213 JOKES.indd 43

09.12.2020 21:54

JAKE STRETCHED OUT UP TOP, JOE STRETCHED OUT DOWN BELOW. LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, THE SIMPSON BROTHERS.

PROOFED_213 COMBO.indd 44

09.12.2020 22:05

21.3

J

oe and Jake Simpson ride together, they film and edit together, but do these two brothers know everything about each other? Anyone can talk about themselves, but it’s much more entertaining to read what someone else has to say about you. We fired them a list of questions to fill out about each other, and this is what they sent back. If you haven’t already, make sure check the COMBO series (where you can see the moving version of these photos) and keep an eye on what these two highly creative snowboarders are cooking up this winter, MASSCOMBO. PHOTOS: THEO ACWORTH

SAME JACKET, DIFFERENT BROTHER. JOE CATCHING A QUICK RIDE ON THE CHAIRLIFT.

PROOFED_213 COMBO.indd 45

09.12.2020 22:05

KENI

09.12.2020 22:05

PROOFED_213 COMBO.indd 46

THIS OUTRUN, WASN’T AN OUTRUN. GO WATCH THE CLIP OF JOE, IT’S MAD.

KAUNI &

21.3

GARDEN: A PLOT OF GROUND, USUALLY NEAR A HOUSE, WHERE FLOWERS, SHRUBS, VEGETABLES, FRUITS, OR HERBS ARE CULTIVATED.

PROOFED_213 COMBO.indd 47

09.12.2020 22:05

JAKE, TOP TO BOTTOM.

21.2

PROOFED_213 COMBO.indd 48

09.12.2020 22:05

OLYMPIC HOPEFULS, OR NOT.

21.3

PROOFED_213 COMBO.indd 49

09.12.2020 22:05

BRANDON HUTTENLOCKER

ROB TIMMERMAN

M

any of you will no doubt be looking to the backcountry this winter as an alternative to potentially closed resorts and as a safe way to escape the crowds. Do yourselves a favour, read this story before you head out there, and consider every step you take. Even people who have spent their entire their lives studying snowpacks and evaluating risk in the backcountry can still be blindsided without a second’s warning, with a few footsteps being the difference between being able to talk about it afterwards, or not.

It was at that moment I started my journey to this room.

I haven’t left yet. Nor do I know when I’ll be able to leave.

I wasn’t expecting to be here. I mean, I wasn’t expecting to die either. I thought that of all of the possible outcomes of that day, the world would continue to turn, with me or without. Instead, the world seems to have stopped.

Instead, I’m here. Looking at the same carpet I looked at yesterday - the only indication of time being the gradual buildup of pine needles on the floor from my daily limps out to fetch the mail.

WORDS: KYLE HANSENKHAN

The trip started in the middle of February. We were on a mission to find snow in a few remote locations around the island of Hokkaido, Japan. The location of the avalanche was just a secondary destination to our primary objective, a sort of back pocket mission we planned on checking out only should we find ourselves with the time.

PHOTOS: BRANDON HUTTENLOCKER

PURGATORY TOR LUNDSTROM INTERVIEW

21.3 21.2

KYLE HANSENKHAN

I woke up this morning in the same place I woke the day before. And the day before that. And the day before. The walls are an off white colour, neutral and bright. The lights themselves, familiar and dull, seem to shine in from every direction. This feels like home, but not one I built myself.

Sixty days ago, an avalanche blindsided me. I had no warning - the first thing I felt was a shove on my back.

And then: Down. Down 500 feet of a steep chute with trees on either side. I only had one foot strapped into my snowboard at the start, so I was truly powerless as the moving surface beneath me picked up more and more speed. I was in a dangerous position; I knew it would only take one collision with a tree to destroy my leg or crack my skull. Tumbling in a haze of the light, cold snow, losing track of up and down, I did have the time to scream.

One scream to let my friends know that I wasn’t dead yet, but also that I could be soon. It could have been my last communication with another human being. I hoped I had communicated what I meant to. Soon, the roaring noise dropped to a halt, and the turbulent, amorphous, billowing cloud of white settled solidly on top of me.

PROOFED_213 PURGATORY.indd 50

As fortune would have it, the first part of our trip did go well. So Rob Timmerman, photographer Brandon Huttenlocher and I did find ourselves with time to explore central Hokkaido. Rob is a coworker of mine, as well as a fellow powder-turn enthusiast. He also happens to be an excellent cook. He’d already scouted a location in a large volcanic nature reserve and was more than happy to share it with us. His description of the terrain around the backcountry onsen lodge he’d found cemented the goal in our minds. The fact that there was a fully stocked community kitchen, a massive outdoor onsen, and that Rob had volunteered to cook for us were just cherries on top of an already appetizing dream zone.

On our mind before the trip were logistics, supplies, routes and powder. We had heard of the looming COVID virus, but as a byline in a world where a new disease seemed muted in headlines dominated by tense events and dire consequences. We were barely six weeks into the year, and already we’d had Australia burn to the ground, an

10.12.2020 10:40

ROB TIMMERMAN DROPPING IN AND TUNING OUT.

exchange of missiles between our country and Iran, and WWIII trending on Twitter. We were mindful of hygiene on our flights over, but more out of a sense of general personal safety rather than an impending globe changing event. There had been no deaths announced in our state, nor were there reports of community transmission there. It was a normal world we embarked from. The world we’d eventually return to would be an altogether different reality.

My focus on the moment was crystal clear on the morning of Feb 29th - the day before the avalanche.

That date only comes around every four years, but the conditions we were walking out into were far more unique and rare than a Leap Day. Lacing up our boots, we knew this was the kind of day we’d been searching for.

Though Japan had been having an uncharacteristically warm and poor snow season to that point, the week before we arrived had been quite snowy and cold. The forecast was clear, fairly calm, and cool. Everywhere we looked indicated we were walking up a mountain covered in a stable snowpack. There were no chairlifts in the entire reserve and no worries of racing for fresh tracks. Touring up, we passed massive marshmallows of powder and rime blanketing frozen trees - greeting us with the welcome news that the snow would be light, fast, and just deep enough to feel bottomless.

A number of setbacks could have pulled the day off track.

We struggled through each with good communication among the team. This was not our first venture, and our Leap Day was not to be foiled. The deep cold of the Hokkaido night had frozen our rental car’s battery, slowing our morning. A firm crust along the skin track at a somewhat exposed section tested our nerves, making us regret that we’d forgotten our Flex Locks. Once we first crested the peak, a well-lit alpine face just up the ridge tempted us to ride an impressively steep, weaving line.

PROOFED_213 PURGATORY.indd 51

Our timing was perfect, with the daylight just beginning to peak into the north-facing throne, and plenty of light left in the day for the excursion. Brandon kept checking the line through his viewfinder. He would have loved the shot, and I would have loved to ride it. However, the danger factor was significant. The exit was clean, but just barely. An uncontrolled slide wasn’t likely, but if initiated in just the wrong spot, could end with a crash into rocks.

After a group consideration, we made the call against riding it. We had moved mountains of gear to get there, scored perfect conditions, yet we still refrained from an extremely enticing line, valuing safety above ego. We’d all been riding together long enough to know that on a long enough timeline, even moderate risks can catch up with you eventually. We all intended, and still intend, to have long, safe lifetimes of enjoying the backcountry. We rode down a more conservative, yet still significant, gully as an alternative. We were rewarded with some of the most fun turns of our season. The extra time left us with enough daylight for two laps through exceptionally light snow.

We took full advantage of what nature was offering us.

We covered ground quickly. Each ridge gained offered another view of the natural reserve. Peaks, ridges and valleys seemed to dance around us. The terrain was the perfect size. Big enough to awe us with every new view, small enough that our legs were able to get us to the next feature before the light had moved too far. We spent that day chasing the sun, riding whichever faces and gullies best caught our eye. The local fumaroles and vents were active all the while, adding still more to the grandeur of our time in the volcanoes of central Hokkaido. By the end of the day, we had circumnavigated multiple prominent features and pushed our bodies hard, though we seemed to always have just enough time to fully absorb the everchanging vistas.

10.12.2020 10:40

The day of my avalanche, on the other hand, started with the muted expectations of a filler day. The weather was far less ideal - cloudy and grey, with only an inch or two of fresh snow. Satisfied from the day before, we went touring that day simply because we were there, and we liked to move around outside. We had the expressed goal of a mellow, shorter day. The line we ended up choosing was the smallest of a series of chutes through the trees. Nice, but not particularly noteworthy. Making a high-speed turn in the cold, dry snow accumulated at the bottom would be worth the hike, though how much more is hard to say. Indeed, it was not worth dying for.

There’s always a risk with any activity but had we better known the risk of this day, Rob and I would never have started walking up that line.

The problem is, we often don’t have a better knowledge of the risk. Knowing what you don’t know is a big part of growing, and a problem with backcountry riding is that often this knowledge doesn’t come until you learn it the hard way. Based on what we did know that morning, we were making safe calls and mitigating risks. Of course, we knew to always be on guard in the backcountry. We had identified and discussed a fairly comprehensive list of threats to avoid. Still, we were completely unaware that we were underestimating a significant danger of the day.

The precise cause of the slide, much like the weather that day, remains somewhat blurry. The lightly snowing clouds hung low, obstructing the view of the release point. And ultimately, there is less to learn from the details of that particular slide than from reflection on the thought process that led me to that point. The knowledge of how to identify risky snowpacks in central Hokkaido’s backcountry in the first storm after an extended highpressure system is knowledge that may or may not come in handy to me in the future. Figuring out how to identify situations with excessive uncertainty, or updating my risk tolerance altogether, could very likely lengthen my life.

We started on the valley floor, with cold, dry, wellbonded snow, and little hint of the sparse gusts of wind we’d seen along the road. A good portion of the chutes above us were sucker routes into exposure. Visibility was poor, and the higher elevations were often icy, so we opted to start low and stay in the trees, entirely avoiding approaches that would put us on top of lines from above.

The idea to bootpack up one of the shorter chutes was not mine, but I loved it. The days before had shown us a largely stable snowpack, and only a couple inches of light snow had fallen overnight. The most significant danger in our eyes was getting lost and ending up cliffed out in bad visibility, or straying onto an open face that could slide us over exposure. This plan mitigated both of those possibilities - and it got us riding steep pow! Rob and I would hike up from the base of the line, with Brandon in touch via radio as he posted up across the valley shooting photos.

Rob was the first one to back off from the line. I had sender plates; he didn’t. I was ahead, creating the bootpack with the help of the plates. There was some very challenging bushwhack climbing necessitated to get up around the choke, and he was unable to pass the crux without the plates. “Let’s get out of here!” He yelled. “OK,” I replied.

“I’ll changeover a little higher. I see a good spot.” It’s hard to pick out which spot to stop at when everywhere you could changeover is exposed. Had the avalanche hit me in the spot I held that conversation at, I would have been less likely to survive.

21.3

With the help of some radio communication, I quickly ascended towards the new designated changeover spot. I

PROOFED_213 PURGATORY.indd 52

was near to safety when I discovered a problem. The small section above me was somehow far deeper than any other section of the chute, though the aspect and angle were nearly identical. I was perplexed. I tried moving through a bush on the right side of the hill, but the snow there was just as concerning. Time to turn around - now!

My changeover was fast, but I lost some time picking up pieces of my nearly new whippet, which had chosen this ascent to start falling apart. Had I gotten my pack together just 30 seconds faster, I could have fared much better in the slide or avoided it altogether. But blaming my nearlynew whippet’s failure doesn’t prevent me from getting in another slide in the future, or fix my leg now. I made the call to be up in the snow that day, and managing gear is one of the responsibilities I took on when doing that.

I got one foot in, and my bag mostly packed. I was on my heelside edge. I could have strapped in my back foot, but I found it easier to keep snow out of my pack by dealing with my headwear first. That decision not to rush to get my back foot attached to the board would cost me my hamstring tendon’s attachment to my hip. Some lessons are cheaper than others.

Suddenly, I felt that indiscriminate, powerful shove from behind. My very first reaction was almost that someone was pushing me, but my next thought made it through enough circuits in my brain to be accurate - avalanche.

I immediately reached to unstrap my front foot. I was unable to in the rush of snow. Reaching forward to unstrap was unbalancing me, and I needed to keep my feet ahead of me. I was in a bad spot.

The slide moved fast. I tumbled a couple of times, but I kept swimming to keep myself near the top. The enveloping white cloud obstructed my view, and the turbulence kept me from ever really knowing how I was positioned. My fighting may have helped influence my path down the avalanche, though I’ll never know for certain.

When the dust settled, I was relieved to discover I was not terribly buried. I was mostly on top, near the very toe of the apron. I’d slid a long way - 400 feet of elevation at least. Rob and Brandon yelled. They didn’t know if I was conscious or where I had ended up. I was able to shake and brush myself out of the top layer. It was relieving to see my friends’ faces, though unnerving to hear the concern in their voices. I could tell Brandon thought he might have lost a friend. I let them know what I knew: “I’m safe, but I might be hurt. I might have torn my left hamstring.”

I didn’t have any pain yet, but I’ve been injured enough times to recognise when I’m in too much shock to register pain. From the way I had tumbled through the avalanche, I suspected my leg would soon start to hurt. It took me a while to work up to trying to move any parts of my body.

As one does in shock, I kept replaying the events of the slide in my head. Everything was so vivid. If I had to name my mistakes now, I can say that I underestimated the extent of windloading in that zone, and really the power of windloading in that entire region. Wind is an issue everywhere, but at home in Washington, I’ve never seen that much snow drift so quickly. In the fourteen hours since we were last on that hill, the upper mountain had changed drastically. I learned this lesson at a price, and a hefty one at that, but at least it was a cheque I could write while breathing. And as it turns out, it was a debt I was going to pay either way. Either to this avalanche or to COVID-19’s lockdown, my 2020 season was to be a wash from that point forward. The next lesson the mountains offer could cost even more.

As an isolated case, it might be fair to brush the whole accident off as simply unlucky: one of those unlikely accidents that happen when time catches up to lives

10.12.2020 10:40

built around small, acceptable risks stacked up over time.

The buildup of snow in that chute was truly perplexing: seemingly entirely unpredictable. I was hit from above by a slide that may well have been remote or naturally triggered. Looking at that peak, the area I was in really didn’t seem to be such a likely target for such a slide. Many other groups had toured to more dangerous areas on that same day, looking at the same conditions we had done.

Looking at the mountain from across the valley, the chute we chose looked to be one of the safer, more tame chutes.

Even if the risk is minimised, highly unlikely outcomes can still happen, and I would be ignorant not to acknowledge that aspect of backcountry risk. I’ve accepted that. The question I have to ask myself is: had I done everything I could to minimise the risk that day?

KYLE , INJURED, BUT ALIVE.

NEGOTIATING WITH THE WAY OUT.

KYLE AND ROB, MOMENTS BEFORE THE SLIDE.

PROOFED_213 PURGATORY.indd 53

10.12.2020 10:40

If a day with such low expectations can nearly kill me, and one of my goals is a full life of chasing snow, am I doing this right? What more, and what less, can I do to stay safe?

I’ve long believed that every moment we’re alive should be treated with significance and enjoyed. That being said, snowboarding is an existence dictated largely by our relationship with the ever-changing conditions of nature.

And so much of this search comes down to the moments, incredibly rare, where conditions come together perfectly.

It is the life built around the chase for these moments that I crave. The moments themselves, I’ve had a handful of already. But the life built around them, and all the wonderful little excursions they introduce me to, I don’t think I’ll ever stop needing. Learning to be selective is a vital skill; the ability to walk away is what will keep this life of chasing going. The issue at hand here isn’t the lack of willingness to walk away, but rather the intrinsic difficulty of separating the moments worth walking away from, from the moments worth diving into. That’s the skill I need to improve upon, though I must also acknowledge that I will never be perfect at it.

I’m alive right now, sitting in my room, but it’s certainly a different kind of existence than the one I had on Leap Day. And even today, chipping away at desk projects, I feel a little more invigorated knowing that this is just another step on the way to the next adventure I’m dreaming of.

The thought of another day like that fuels me. Leap Day was not devoid of risk, but it was certainly full of what I’m looking for in life.

The problem isn’t that I can’t eliminate risk in the backcountry. I can. I can stop snowboarding entirely. But that also kills a part of me. The question of how to keep snowboarding, of how to keep doing any of the things that truly make us feel alive, is a little harder when faced with the probability of death. So, how do we balance that? How do we evaluate risk?

The truth is, I’m not in purgatory after almost dying from an avalanche. I’m recovering from hamstring surgery in the middle of a global pandemic. Life is complex, hard, and often unpredictable. So is evaluating risk in the backcountry. I’m not in some deity’s waiting room. I’m in my old bedroom, recovering. All the same, I’m stuck here reflecting on my choices, and what they say about me. The backcountry is serious and doesn’t get any less serious as you get more experienced. Every trip takes preparation, and every region is different.

legless board sledding. Rob still had skins on his split skis, whereas my board had a well-waxed base, so I could even chip in a bit and pull him on these downhills. It must have been quite the sight to see a sitting snowboarder pulling a splitboarder by an ice axe down the skin track. Rob and I burst out laughing. I was lucky to be alive and deeply grateful to have friends like Rob and Brandon. I had to feel some positivity for that. Still, I felt significant shame under the waves of relief, punctuated by a growing pain in my leg. I was disappointed in myself for being up on that chute at all. At the same time, the choice of whether I would go be in the mountains that day seemed not to exist. Even then, broken and hobbled, I couldn’t imagine a life where I didn’t see a snowy field and at least go walk around in it.

Before this is over, I’ll have lost months of my life to this room. I might not ever be as strong as I was before. If I am, it’s only thanks to the hard work and skill of my surgeon and a team of medical miracle workers. This avalanche has taken from me significantly already and still threatens to take more. I won’t know the final cost until I’ve fought through this whole healing process of eight months or more. That said, this time has also given me something.

I saw my friends work to pull me for over a mile through deep snow out of the backcountry, managing to keep each other smiling the whole way. I saw Brandon carry my board bag and suitcase on top of his own board bag, camera bag and suitcase through the massive Japanese railway system to make sure I made it onto my flight home. I saw the owner of Karakoram drop everything at work to make sure my employee insurance processed in time for my surgery (thank you, Tyler!). I saw the people I love in my life pull together to make sure I had a good room to heal in. Challenges like this show us the best of ourselves as well as the worst of ourselves. I have months here in this room. I have an opportunity to reset, refocus on what matters, and start again.

Decision making is a constant battle, weighing what we know against what we don’t. We weigh what we might hurt, and who we might hurt. We weigh what could be lost, and who could be losing it. We weigh what could be gained and what that means to us. Our choices leave lines behind us, pointing to who we are.

Sitting at the toe of the avalanche, I couldn’t quite believe what had happened, or how quickly it had happened.

One second I was thinking about my hat, and before the next thought could hit I was swept off my perch with the force of a couple of linebackers. It was a surreal feeling at the bottom, gathering myself and realising I was still alive, trying to figure out if my leg was okay or not. We were about a mile and a half from our car, then a short drive from our lodge. The lodge itself was tucked up in the mountains of central Hokkaido, some 4300 miles from this room.

21.3 21.2

Brandon and Rob were handy and quick. Rob unburied my pack and grabbed my emergency layering jacket. He helped me shake the snow out of my jacket and bibs, then helped me get the layers on. They turned my splitboard into a makeshift sled, and hauled me all the way to the road. The trek out was hard, but also somehow enjoyable.

On the downhill sections, we discovered I had a knack for

PROOFED_213 PURGATORY.indd 54

10.12.2020 10:40

KYLE IN HIS HAPPY PLACE, THE DAY BEFORE THE SLIDE.

JAPAN DELIVERING.

PROOFED_213 PURGATORY.indd 55

10.12.2020 10:40

M213 mid merch.indd 56

09.12.2020 22:14

M213 mid merch.indd 57

09.12.2020 22:14

NICHOLAS WOLKEN LOST IN THE ELEMENTS.

W

e’ve had our sights on the States for a while now and decided it was time for a change in travel plans after 4 consecutive trips to Japan each February. Early in 2020 we made the call to head west instead of east – a road trip starting in Vancouver, BC with a few shop visits and demo events around the Sea To Sky, and then traveling south to Washington and Oregon, and back up again. In hindsight, moving east inland to the interior of BC and Alberta might have proven to be the smarter choice in terms of snow. While the coastal mountains can be goldmines for snow accumulation, they can also border on the most soggy experiences to be had on a snowboard. This was one of the most challenging, yet also one of the most fun film trips to date. Thanks to everyone involved who joined us or helped along the way! We’ll be back stateside for sure. - Aaron Schwartz PHOTOS: AARON SCHWARTZ FISHEYE PHOTOS: THEO ACWORTH

PROOFED_213 KORUA.indd 58

10.12.2020 13:34

LARS POPP

I’ve never felt more glad to have Gore-Tex. Throughout our trip, people kept telling us about how risky it is to plan a trip to the PNW and assume you’ll get good and stable conditions. We started filming at the legendary Mount Baker. The terrain was a dream come true, transitions everywhere, old-school chairlifts with direct backcountry access, one big snowy skatepark. The conditions were actually quite stable, but not good. At the beginning, we laughed about people on the chairlifts wearing rubbish bags over their pants. After an hour at the resort we were all soaking wet, not laughing so much anymore.

The people riding Baker seemed to be used to such conditions though. We could watch locals rip down the bumpiest terrain of wet and heavy snow, full speed, while we tried to gain groomer or powder footage, not much of it available.

Gallows humour was key during the first two weeks of filming, but we managed to have good times, stack footage and not kill each other. Our patience was rewarded with better conditions later on and good memories of a varied trip.

21.3

PROOFED_213 KORUA.indd 59

10.12.2020 13:34

THEO ACWORTH

My strongest memory of this trip is actually about the woods around Mount Baker, rather than the snowboarding there. Is that weird? I mean the snowboarding was fun, and I took a run on the banked slalom course the day after the race and pretended I was winning, but the woods surrounding the mountain were what really struck me.

I guess it was more of a forest. The trees were all foggy and mossy, and quiet. It felt old, really old. It was also wet, really wet. People give me shit about the rain in England, but they’ve clearly never been to the Pacific North West. The rain made our cabin in the woods feel extra cosy though, but it was tough to film in.

I’m a terrible followcam filmer at the best of times, but trying to do it pretty much blind with my camera inside a plastic bag was a bloody nightmare. I should have just used a GoPro, that’s what Aaron did and it looked like he had way more fun than me, apart from the few days where he had a fever and had to stay in bed. We didn’t see a doctor, but maybe he had Korunavirus, which is known to develop as a result of overexposure to aggressive turns in the rain. We saw some people wearing bin bags [or “garbage” bags as they’re known over there] as a form of rudimentary protection from the weather. Outerwear companies really have been wasting their time trying to invent waterproof jackets when we could just be wearing bin bags instead. We really should have filmed some carving in them. Can you imagine how amazing that would have looked? The beautiful and powerful snowboarding of Nicholas and Lars, juxtaposed by giant flapping plastic bags? I genuinely regret letting that one slip by me. Oh well, I still had a great time.

I didn’t see any really fat people though, I thought they’d be everywhere. Maybe they don’t like the rain?

PROOFED_213 KORUA.indd 60

10.12.2020 13:34

NICHOLAS BURNING THROUGH THE BAKER CHUNDER.

PROOFED_213 KORUA.indd 61

10.12.2020 13:34

LAST LIGHT WITH NICHOLAS.

LARS SURFING IT UP AT CRYSTAL.

PROOFED_213 KORUA.indd 62

10.12.2020 13:34

AARON SCHWARTZ

After a sketchy landslide caused road blocks and delayed our travels to our next destination – Crystal Mountain – we passed the town of Enumclaw, WA. A town we were later told by Blair Habenicht and Morgan Hebert was known for a beastiality scandal where a Boeing-employed engineer died of internal injuries after engaging in anal sex with a horse (the receiving end).

Anyway, we saw a moose cross the road in Greenwater a few days later, that was a very PNW experience. Our time at Crystal was short but sweet, it was a rad mountain with great terrain and groomers. Erica Kutz and Dan Bott (aka Gnardoggie) outdid themselves in welcoming us. Blair took us on a long-ass hike at the end of a long-ass day, and an even longer week, which both Theo and I with heavy camera bags semi-reluctantly powered through. But hey, it’s all about the experience! And the view of Mount Rainier was spectacular.

After a tear-jerking good-bye at the Seattle airport international departures terminal, we parted ways with Theo and were Portland-bound to pick up Morgan Maassen, who joined us to film the Mount Bachelor portion of the trip. The forecast looked promising after what we had endured thus far – a full week of sunshine ahead lifted our spirits. Both the city of Bend and Mount Bachelor immediately felt like home. We met up with old friends like Josh Dirksen and Jake Price for some laps, local film wizard JP Schlick showed us around the whole mountain, and our pal Matt Foley drove all the way up from Tahoe to join us for a few days. The groomers were absolutely bonkers, some of the most fun and flowing terrain we’d ever snowboarded on – to put it into our own words, Mount Bachelor = #madeforturning, just like us. A pretty perfect match indeed.

LIGHT, SHADOW, TURNS, NICHOLAS.

PROOFED_213 KORUA.indd 63

10.12.2020 13:34

NICHOLAS WOLKEN

I didn’t really have much expectations for our next destination Mt. Bachelor, all I knew was that there are some really nice windlips and some much needed sunshine was forecasted. With an open mind we took our first chair up, hadn’t put a single foot on slope before some instant freeze rain deemed our goggles useless and stung our eyes and faces like killer bees.

That’s when we learned about skigees. “Its normal here!” the locals said ,”Everyone has one to scrape their goggles and faces from ice…” Having snowboarded for 28 years, this blew my mind.

I didn’t expect to come across such a new experience and a very simple, useful and essential tool like this, which I haven’t even heard of. It just shows how different this place is for us Euro kooks.

The sun eventually popped according to the forecast and it soon became clear that the mountain just has this perfect angle/ pitch for cruising and groomer turning… not too steep and not too flat, but the best thing about it was the incredible playful wavy terrain with banks, rollers & sidehits everywhere. We had the best time creating flowy lines, linking up the many terrain features to generate speed.

This was a real breath of fresh air after the often boringly flat groomed slopes in Europe. It made regular slope riding just so much more fun.

LARS ON THE LIP. BACHELOR. PHOTO: MATT FOLEY

PROOFED_213 KORUA.indd 64

10.12.2020 13:34

MORGAN MAASSEN

As a life-long surfer, my exposure to snowboarding was (shamefully) only brought about recently, as visiting the snow was something far-off both my family’s radar and my own free-time in my early twenties. Upon my first run though, I was hooked, and the ensuing deep-dive into the culture landed me at the feet of Korua’s social media, where I fawned over their obsessive hunger for speed and design. My cries for attention were finally acknowledged and I was invited to join the team as they sojourned across the Pacific North West at the beginning of 2020. The ensuing week of snowboarding was absolutely wild. No two days were the same; some eerily calm with fresh trails to explore, others wind-swept to high hell, ice blasting through every entrance of one’s garments.

As I tried to keep up with the crew, juggling a RED camera and a few of my heavy vintage lenses as we traversed ice patches and bombed groomers, my mind was blown. Watching Nicholas, Lars and Aaron snowboard to their level was awe-inspiring; like the first time I saw Kelly Slater or Stephanie Gilmore in the flesh. Absolute mastery, intersecting with so much style and wisdom. It was radical, and it challenged me immensely. I was not days off the plane from shooting free-diving under a frozen lake in Iceland, and trying to keep up with Nicholas on the groomers made that seem like a walk in the park. But in my deficit of ability, I found an incredible challenge of pushing my speed on the board, learning new mountain terrain, and operating a camera like I never had before. And at the end of every day when we’d watch footage, it was a rush to be so nervous to present my vision from my left-field, someone who went from zero to one hundred in shooting the sport.

While I may have missed some shots or had some close calls a seasoned snow filmer wouldn’t have had, everyone accommodated me immensely, and this quick jaunt up to Oregon turned into one of my favourite trips of this last decade of shooting.

PROOFED_213 KORUA.indd 65

NICHOLAS, BOTTOM TURNING AND BURNING.

10.12.2020 13:34

PROOFED_213 UNIVITED.indd 66

10.12.2020 10:34

T

he Uninvited are back, and this time they’ve seriously outdone themselves. Snowboarding, you’d better take notice, because these ladies are out there grinding and are going to run you the fuck over and leave you in the dust if you don’t.

WORDS: DARRAH REID- MCLEAN

If Jess Kimura is involved, you know it’s going to be good. Her passion, drive, and grit have made her into one of the most well known urban snowboarders in the world. She has a soft spot for the underdog (maybe because she was one for so long herself) and an amazing ability to focus on the big picture amongst all the micro catastrophes of filming a video part. It’s these qualities and so many more that make her the ultimate movie producer and a much-needed advocate for women’s snowboarding.

MADISON BLACKLEY, LIVIN’ PHOTO: GILL MONTGOMERY

I think the motivation to film a video part is the same for most people, regardless of their gender. Aside from a desire to showcase skills, it’s also a tangible goal that sparks drive and excitement all season long. It gives us purpose and something to work hard at. There’s also the sense of community it provides. Being a part of a video project feels like being part of a big, slightly dysfunctional family. I love (almost) everything about filming: from the physical grinding to the creative aspect, to the emotional highs and lows. It’s somehow such a rewarding and satisfying process. Unfortunately, it’s a process some have found themselves left out of and desperate to be included in.

As someone who grew up watching snowboard videos, I know how disheartening and discouraging it is to not have anyone like me to watch snowboard.

It made it feel like my options were limited, and caused me to internalize the narrative that women don’t matter. The Uninvited is not only an enjoyable snowboard video with impressive riding, but it’s also a really important statement that still needs to be made to this day.

DARRAH REID-MCLEAN, THE AUTHOR OF THIS ARTICLE AND OWNER OF A MEAN HANDPLANT. PHOTO: GILL MONTGOMERY 21.3

PROOFED_213 UNIVITED.indd 67

10.12.2020 10:34

MAYON YAMAGUCHI, PURE STEEZE. PHOTO: KENTARAWMASTSUDA

PROOFED_213 UNIVITED.indd 68

10.12.2020 10:34

SAVANNAH SHINSKE WITH A SAVAGE ELBOWKINK LIPSLIDE TO FAKIE. NO PUN INTENDED. PHOTO: TIM ZIMMERMAN

PROOFED_213 UNIVITED.indd 69

10.12.2020 10:34

COUCH SURFERS. PHOTO: GILL MONTGOMERY

21.3

Though the snowboard industry has been making strides lately, men definitely maintain a dominant presence in snowboard videos. Following the success of the first Uninvited video, there still seemed to be a lot of talent and hunger lacking any platform. “If opportunity doesn’t knock, build a door.” So, Jess built another one. This time featuring Ylfa Rúnarsdóttir, Miyon Yamaguchi, Savannah Shinske, Naima Antolin, Madison Blackley, Maggie Leon, Taylor Elliott, Kaleah Opal, Emma Crosby, Sophie Nicholls-Austin, Taylor Davies, Corrine Pasela, Jenaya Jenkins and so many more.

PROOFED_213 UNIVITED.indd 70

10.12.2020 10:34

AND SHE’S GOOD AT CROCHET. PHOTO: TIM ZIMMERMAN

FACT: NAIMA ANTOLIN DOES COOL DRAWINGS ON HER PANTS. CORINE PASELA, COMING AND GOING.

PHOTO: BENJAMIN LITTLER

Of course, nobody anticipated what 2020 would bring. Still, despite the season being cut short due to you-know-what, the Uninvited sequel is exciting, creative, full of hammers, and most importantly: makes you want to go snowboarding. In another demonstration of devotion (and stubbornness), Jess edited the movie by herself. It’s filmed by Dave Walcer, Bryden Bowley, Troy Erickson, Parish Isaacs, Yutaro DP and many more, with shots filmed in Canada, the U.S, Europe, and Japan. With a tiny budget, much less time on snow than expected, and a few other odds stacked against us, the Uninvited 2 is still sure to blow minds this year!

Go watch the full movie. Then watch it again, and again. Now playing on Methodmag.com

PROOFED_213 UNIVITED.indd 71

10.12.2020 10:34

INTERVIEW BY METHOD’S AMATEUR PSYCHIATRIST DR ACWORTH

Yo, how you doing?

Good thanks Zebbe, how are you? How’s the Stuntwood shop, is Chriso behaving himself?

He’s alright. He’s taking all the candy and never buys us more.

Hopefully he’s not scaring the customers away?

Nah, we keep him in the back.

Smart. So I’m happy for this conversation to go in any direction, but I was hoping that we could start on the topic of race and snowboarding?

Sure.

RORSCHACH ZEBBE LANDMARK

So there’s a few different terms out there like POC, which is your preferred?

I’d rather hear POC or people of colour. For me it’s not an issue if people say black or white, but there are so many different skin types that I feel POC is a good term. It’s pretty new, but I think it’s a nice term to use.

Ok, just want to make sure you’re down with the language being used, because language definitely plays a big part in this.

Yeah exactly. For me it’s difficult because I haven’t really thought about it in that way. And I haven’t been in too many situations where I’ve felt that someone said something about my skin colour in a mean or racist way.

That’s good to hear. You’re from Sweden, how are your day-to-day experiences there?

For me it’s pretty easy and mellow. But that’s just me, and not necessarily like that for everyone. I grew up in a very small town, maybe five or seven thousand people. For sure you were a bit different, but definitely not alone. You always meet people with different thoughts than you, but in general it was a good place to grow up. Not too many skinheads. Some for sure, but they were also children, I would say. Just trying to figure out where they fitted in.

21.3

PROOFED_M213 RORSCHACH.indd 72

When I first hit you up about this you said that you were going to do an interview with Snowboarder Mag, and David Djité mentioned that he’s suddenly had a lot of requests to write as well. How do you feel about snowboard media suddenly reaching out and wanting to talk to you? I guess it would have been good if we’d done it earlier?

I guess, but then maybe this wouldn’t have been the topic of discussion. I think it’s good of course, everyone deserves to be noticed and we should take this time and be humble about it and appreciate it. If we have something to say, then this is the time, because people are listening.

You can’t really say that it’s too late, I think it’s good that people are doing interviews in magazines and videos, because that gets people aware about what’s happening and aware that we are growing. Likewise with you guys, running your first female cover. Sick that you’re doing it, and hopefully there will be more. Not like you haven’t done interviews with ladies before, but it always takes some time for these issues to gain more recognition. I feel like it’s good that you’re taking notice and learning from what’s been done before. It’s cool that you’re thinking about going further with it and talking to people about these issues.

We’re still feeling it out, but just trying to use our platform with the mag as best we can.

I think you guys are all doing a great job. It’s really unfortunate that it took a person being killed to bring this issue to people’s attention, but now we’re here, you gotta keep looking forward instead of looking backwards. You have to learn from your mistakes, that’s the whole point.

Everyone is going to make mistakes, there is no perfect person. You can only learn from yourself and hopefully go forwards.

Very true, very wise. How are you feeling about how snowboarding has been reacting to this issue?

I feel it’s been really positive. Lots of people are getting in the spotlight who should have been there a lot earlier. I feel that a lot of people are backing it, there’s a really good positive vibe through it all. Through this sad experience, everyone is being positive and grateful for where we are.

10.12.2020 10:39

From my experience, no one has ever seen me as someone different. I’ve been to the US a lot and travelled a bunch, and I never felt like I didn’t fit in because of my skin colour. I feel like the snowboard community has always been very open, but when it comes to putting out content, POC haven’t been focused on as much, even though their abilities are as good as anyone else’s. So I still think it’s a positive outcome, and I think that a lot of people have had their eyes opened to this issue, if they didn’t see it before.

When it comes to media representation there’s definitely a pretty huge imbalance. So as a magazine we need to work harder at bringing more diversity onto our pages and hopefully brands will also do it with their ads.

Yeah I would say that. That’s maybe the biggest issue. If there were more POC in ads, then more POC might be getting into snowboarding and feeling welcome. It’s hard to see that when you’re already in the community and feeling part of it. But maybe you’re not in the spotlight.

You’re on the set, but not the main shot, if you know what I mean?

Same plan for me. Never done it before but have been meaning to for a while. Now I have a board, so no excuses!

I guess everyone else is going to have the same idea this winter.

Nice. That’s good though, it’s a learning experience. I went for the first time two years ago with Jakob [Wilhelmson] and Hampus [Moseson] and it was a really good experience with a couple of legends. Just need to get out more.

Ok Zebbe I think we can leave it there. Any closing words?

Thanks to you guys for doing this and moving forwards, and letting people speak up about things like this.

HALFCAB 50-50 PHOTO: PONCHIKZ

Russell Winfield said exactly the same thing, that he was riding with the right people and at the same level, but he was being passed over for pro models and stuff like that.

Exactly. It’s sad that it took so long. He was in the right place, and ripping. He was with everybody but no one wanted to put his name on a board. Right now it’s early, but things feel like they’re moving in a good direction.

Let’s see. It will take years to see that this isn’t just some wave going by, but that the change is here to stay and that we’re evolving to a new type of normal.

Very nicely put, we hope so too. I guess we forget that snowboarding is pretty young, but maybe it’s finally growing up?

Yeah I think so too. I’ve been snowboarding for so long and it’s interesting to see how media and snowboarding itself has been changing. But mostly the change has been with female snowboarding being taken more seriously, if I can say it like that? And that’s a really good thing. It’s weird that it’s been so hard for them to get coverage and not just be used for catalogue shoots. I don’t understand how it got to be that way. You still need to sell snowboards, right? So why not give female riders more coverage, and therefore sell more boards to the female market?

I’ve been told that our readership is something like 80% male and 20% female. But of course, if we feature more female content, then our female readership will grow.

Exactly. That’s what we’re seeing in the store. It’s so hard to sell female outerwear, which is sad. I know there are lots of women riding, but it’s tough. But if you don’t have a lot of stock, then you’re not going to have ladies coming in and buying things. It takes time. You have to put in the the effort maybe spend something on it yourself at first. It might not all sell for two or three years, but then eventually it will work and you’ll be able to offer more.

Well hopefully media can play a role in balancing things out. If we can do our part, and others can do their part, then collectively that’s a difference, and that’s something that can start to change opinions.

For sure.

So I didn’t actually ask what your plans are for this winter or what your mindset is towards snowboarding at the moment. Are you shooting anything, or is the shop a full time gig now?

Yeah the shop is a full time thing. I’ll still get out and ride as much as I can, but it’s more selling boards now, instead of only riding them. If we get snow in Stockholm I’ll for sure get out and try to ride some rails. I’m also getting more and more into splitboarding, trying head more to the mountains this year.

PROOFED_M213 RORSCHACH.indd 73

10.12.2020 10:39

21.3

“AND THEN AFTER THAT YOU JUST DROP IN, RIDE THE BARREL AND GET PITTED, SO PITTED”

PROOFED_M213 SEVEY.indd 74

10.12.2020 13:28

B

ackcountry snowboard films are changing. The days days of building giant kickers are dwindling, and the focus is shifting towards something… else. Something quieter, but far more visceral. If you don’t know what we’re talking about, go watch GLUE and soft. Severin van der Meer is at the forefront of this next generation of powder riders, and he’s linked up with Hillton for his new video project, which will drop next year.

INTERVIEW: THEO ACWORTH PHOTOS: SILVANO ZEITER

Hey, how are you?

I’m good thanks mate, you?

Nice, I’m doing good.

Where are you right now?

At home in Zürich, it’s mellow. Just saw that there’s a bunch of snow coming.

Finally. What have you been up to this summer?

I went to France for two months, surfing and exploring on the west coast. I’ve surfed there before but never spent a lot of time there. It’s so nice. The surf gets so good, we could surf in board shorts for two months. I wore a wetsuit two or three times, which is unusual for France. It was good all summer, surfed every day.

Sounds nice. I’ve never made friends with surfing.

Never?

Nope. I’ve tried, and the ocean just kicks the living shit out of me.

I’m sure you would love it.

I watch it, and I think it looks fun, and then I get in the ocean and it isn’t fun at all. But I’ve never given it the time it deserves. I’m also not the strongest swimmer. I mean I can swim, just not for very long. I like my feet to be able to touch the bottom, know what I mean? I’m more likely to be the guy skating along the beachfront.

Have you been to France on the west coast?

Not really.

It’s so good for skating. They’re building so many insane bowls and parks, it’s crazy.

I have to come down then. I think Benny Urban was around there in the summer too?

Yeah he was around for a few weeks, we had a huge crew

and were based in one campsite with people coming in and out all the time.

PROOFED_M213 SEVEY.indd 75

Sounds cosy. So I guess you can stand up and ride waves?

Yep, that’s as good as it gets, coming from Switzerland.

After the Mexico trip last year where we spent five months surfing, I wasn’t too bad. You just have to get into it again, but once you have the paddle power, it’s so much fun.

Have you seen the Kook Slams Instagram?

Definitely.

That’s pretty much every experience I’ve ever had on a surfboard. *laughs* I can laugh at Jerry of the day, but when I look at Kook Slams, that stuff has actually happened to me. So we should probably talk about snowboarding now, but I gather the surfing mindset plays a bit of a role in your new video project?

Yeah. I like to ride backcountry, and I like to surf. And I like watching surf videos, I think they’re really inspiring for what we want to do. Watching Craig Anderson, and the Former stuff, it’s a really nice way to make videos, I think.

There are a bunch of waves on the mountain too, natural windlips, which are pretty much frozen waves. So it’s not about surfing, but we’re inspired by surfing. We want to make something where everyone can get the vibe and the flow.

Is it only natural features you’re hitting then? Waves and lips?

Yeah exactly. Filming with Absinthe really brought me into that, riding it as nature gives it to you. I really love this approach to snowboarding and wanted to do a whole project based on something like this. Not saying I’m not gonna shape anything or only ride natural features. But this is the approach.

SEVERIN VAN DER MEER INTERVIEW

Sounds good.

That means you’re trying to work with the mountains,

instead of making them work with you.

10.12.2020 13:28

“IT’S JUST LIKE, YOU PULL IN, AND YOU JUST GET SPIT RIGHT OUT OF EM”

PHOTO CREDIT: DOMINIC ZIMMERMANN

PROOFED_M213 SEVEY.indd 76

10.12.2020 13:28

“IT’S JUST LIKE... DUDE, YOU GET THE BEST BARRELS EVER, DUDE.”

PROOFED_M213 SEVEY.indd 77

10.12.2020 13:28

“YOU JUST DROP IN, SMACK THE LIP... WAAPAH! JUST DROP DOWN... SWOOPAH!”

PROOFED_M213 SEVEY.indd 78

10.12.2020 13:28

Exactly. It really changed how I look at faces. Once you start to ride like this, you only see things like this. You look at how you can ride it, instead of just looking for where you can build a jump and then land thirty meters away in a landing. That’s cool too, and fun, but this is something else.

Where have you been shooting so far? The shots I’ve seen have been sick.

Mostly Laax, and some from Fiesch. All of these shots are pretty much from one week, from the whole season. It wasn’t great in Europe last year, so much wind and rain.

And then Corona. Which is why we’re now making it a two-year project. We wanted to release it this fall, but I thought we should do it real. One plan was to only film in the Alps. At this point, I’m not a big fan of just going to Japan or Canada because there is snow there when in the end it could have just been better to film in Switzerland.

I wanted to film everything in the Alps, so I could get to know my own backyard better. We also want to look out for the planet and not just fly everywhere to film.

So I’ve heard that Willem Jones is your cinematographer?

Oh yeah, Willie boy, such a good guy. He’s the man and has the eye to film.

And I heard that DBK [David Bertschinger Karg] was involved as a director, and now Alex Tank has also jumped in?

Yeah exactly. I had this idea with Silvano [Zeiter], and we were talking about it for years. DBK was in London a lot and was coming back to Zürich more and more, and we got to hang and talked about the project. I asked if they wanted to do it, him and Tobi [Bonfanti], and they were into it and were down to direct it and produce it with Hillton/ Animals, their director duo. After this season we realised that we needed a director to be on the mountain with us most of the time. As those guys have a big company with a lot of other jobs as well, we figured that we needed someone else who could be involved. We spoke at the Hillton party when Alex was there, and I thought he would be the perfect match. I hit him up and asked, he was all ears but had plans to move to Berlin and didn’t want to say yes straight away. Then he called me two weeks later and said he’d changed his plans and was in for the winter. Alex wanted to be involved with everything, which I was stoked about. To have someone committing 100% is much better than someone who’s on the mountain but isn’t involved with editing and stuff. It needs to be the same person.

That’s what you want. Obviously, it’s great having talented people involved in any way, but if you feel that their time is required elsewhere - which is fine and happens all the time - it can stop a project feeling and being as good as it can be.

Exactly. And that’s what we felt last year because DBK and Tobi didn’t always have time to be on the mountain with Willem and me. We made a plan about how we wanted it and how we wanted it to be filmed. Then we told Willem, but it was hard because he wasn’t too used to the backcountry and had to get used to it, and when I’m snowboarding I’m not really thinking about the shots.

DBK and Will can talk about angles and which chapter we’re shooting for. It was hard for me to try and both direct and ride and think about that stuff.

That’s a lot to take on. It’s pretty easy to just go out with a filmer and shoot something, but if there’s no plan, then you just end up with a pile of footage. That’s fine, but that’s also just what everyone else does.

Yeah. We just wanted something bit different to that.

Does the world need another video that’s just snowboarding to music? Maybe not. That’s why I love the work that the Hillton guys do. It’s conceptual, it’s

PROOFED_M213 SEVEY.indd 79

planned, it has ideas behind it, it has direction. How’s this more considered approach been as an experience for you?

Yeah, that’s why I asked them, because I wanted to switch things up a little bit. I had four great years of shooting with Absinthe, but I wanted to get more involved with the creative part as well and be involved from the beginning to the end. So that’s why I wanted to do something myself.

That’s rad. There’s nothing better than being in control of what you’re doing, and also being excited about it.

Exactly. It’s such a different thing. I’m way more motivated to snowboard and give everything. It kinda changed a lot.

Have you sponsors all been pretty receptive of what you want to do?

Yeah. Without them, we couldn’t make a film like this. You need money to do it, and they were backing it since day one. I introduced the project last fall, and they were all ears. Maybe you heard about the O’Neill thing? They were into it at first and promised me a bigger contract. Then at the end of November, they said no to the project, and no to the deal. I was so pissed. I then had the opportunity to do something with FW, I loved their proposal and what they wanted to do, and in the end, I’m so glad I did it with them.

Ride, Laax and Doodah are also the main sponsors, they’ve all been so cool with us making it a two-year thing. They’re happy to give some more support and totally get it. It’s so cool that they think like this. I want to do something real, they want to do something real, where we only film in the Alps and not travel everywhere, and they fully back this plan and committed for another year. I’m hyped for sure.

After I saw that butter shot, I didn’t need to know anything else about the project. I was sold.

I didn’t try to make it that long, the snow conditions were so perfect and I was just locked in. Willie got the perfect angle, and the shadow moves so nicely.

What’s the movie called?

CHROMA, which means colour in greek. Alex came up with it. It fits really well with what we want to do. It’s nice to mix colours, and you also do the opposite by mixing it with monochrome. Colour, for me, means playful, and this fits with the riding and what we want to show.

Anything else that we should know about it?

I think for now this is cool. It’s a conceptual short film, and we have segments, but let’s leave it here and then show everything else when it comes out.

The big question is, will there be wakeboarding in it? *laughs* Fuck you!

What was the best trick you could do on the bigair jumps?

Melon back 1. And I did some doubles.

Damn, send me clips!

There are clips on the Internet, but don’t look for them.

10.12.2020 13:28

M213 mid.indd 80

10.12.2020 13:41

M213 mid.indd 81

10.12.2020 13:41

This year Northwave turns 30, and they’ve been celebrating in style. They were one of the first companies to make specialised boots for snowboarding, and their products changed the game for everyone. To celebrate their 30th anniversary, they put together three teams of riders who represented three generations of snowboarding. For three weeks, they were on a mission to explore the history of the sport, and the history of the brand. They shredded a selection of boots from as far back as 1991, the OGs rode rails, the young guns rode pow, and everyone survived, just.

PHOTOS: TROY TANNER

21.3

PROOFED_213 NORTHWAVE.indd 82

10.12.2020 10:43

There’s just so much that can go wrong.

It’s amazing that we’re all snowboarders who’ve been doing it a long time and dedicated to our cause, but when you take yourself out of your category, all of a sudden and you’re not as good as you thought you were. You’re a rookie again. Everyone wants to be a rounded snowboarder, but it’s a tricky thing to do.I think the young guys enjoyed crossing over into our world. Great time, great week, great project. Pumped.

Need a rest now.

PROOFED_213 NORTHWAVE.indd 83

It was sick to a little bit of what everyone else was doing in snowboarding. And nice to give them a bit of a taste of our venom.

I was stoked on the difference in everyone’s riding style. everyone tried something that they wouldn’t normally try.

10.12.2020 10:43

GUMBY STEPPING, ER, ROLLING OUT OF HIS COMFORT ZONE.

Seeing what these guys do in the streets with my own eyes blew my mind. It gave me a massive respect for that side of our sport, which I might not have had previously.

I was gonna go switch 50-50, but then I thought, what am I doing? I suck at rails!

So I just went halfcab 50-50 back 180 off. It was nice to know that we can still do it, but I’m probably not gonna go work on my rail game. - Tyler Chorlton

The longboard session was terrifying. You did it once and got your head around it, but still scary. I’d never do anything like that, or think to do anything like that. Just seeing everyone trying it and giving it a hoon was cool. - JJ Rayward

THE SASSIEST REFEREE IN TOWN, AJ LAWSON.

It was interesting to try Kael’s stance. We set it so tight we could only use two bolts, and I ripped one off because I’m too heavy. It makes sense for his tricks. No one is riding things like him. It was fun to see Tyler and Gumby hitting rails too. I wasn’t sure Gumby would know how the creeper would work, and he got it pretty quick. He’s 48, that’s gnarly. He’d never even tried a creeper before. I think he was hyped about it. Big respect. Also seeing Gumby on the longboard on the rail was so sick. - Dusan Kriz

PROOFED_213 NORTHWAVE.indd 84

10.12.2020 10:43

KAEL WORKS HIS MAGIC.

Troy ran you over and I thought you were dead. You also just about tore your leg off. What were you thinking? Kael Hill It was one of those moments when you hit the ground and everything goes black for a second and you’re not sure if you’re broken or not. That one got to me psychologically.

The board was coming with me every time and I could see it under my feet. So to have the worst case scenario happen when the board lodges on the rail and I’m zeaching, catching my edge at the top of the rail and then slamming onto dirt and rocks. The solution was just to ride the board switch so the tail wouldn’t pop. That was a big personal victory to have the crash and then get back into the game. - Kael Hill

ALEX & KAEL IN THEIR ELEMENT.

PROOFED_213 NORTHWAVE.indd 85

10.12.2020 10:43

JUST ANOTHER DAY IN THE OFFICE FOR TYLER.

GUMBY SHOWING THE KIDS SOME REAL SNOWBOARDING.

Both of us were concerned with taking park rats into the backcountry. We did it safe, but we take it seriously, because everyone is at risk out there. The hike was hard, but I was pretty pleased at how everyone was in the pow. I sucked at the rails, but the park guys really sucked in the powder! Sorry guys, I’m kidding. I think the young guys enjoyed crossing over into our world.

Great time, great week, great project. Pumped. Need a rest now.

PROOFED_213 NORTHWAVE.indd 86

10.12.2020 10:43

RAY-WARD FLYING BACK-WARD.

I was wearing track pants on the first day and had to electrical tape the bottoms up to stop snow getting in. I smartened up after that.

FLOSSIN’

DUSAN HOLDING IT DOWN FOR GENERATION Z

I’m a 40 try kinda guy, which works in the streets, but not in the backcountry. What we lacked in landings, we made up for in style and bails. That’s a tip for the kids, if you’re in the backcountry and you don’t think you can land, just dress as inappropriately as possible and it makes up for everything. That’s my theory. I don’t want to wear goggles or 30K outerwear. Drop the gloves, that’s the next move. I didn’t land much, but I had fun.

PROOFED_213 NORTHWAVE.indd 87

10.12.2020 10:43

I loved the surfy and loose feeling of the boots, like riding without highbacks. I got used to mine, and by the time I took them off I had to readjust to my normal boots which just felt really rigid, I wanted the surfy feeling again.

PROOFED_213 NORTHWAVE.indd 88

The pair of boots I tried was from my very first season in 1990. That was one of the biggest game changers in the sport. The gas pedal on those original Drake bindings and the rigidity of those old Northwave boots like the Apex and the Decade, I rode those boots when I was sponsored by them back in the day, and they lifted my game massively.

As the gear progressed, our snowboarding progressed.

You could really ride fast and charge. Obviously they feel pretty soft now, so it’s amazing how much the boots have evolved. Seeing AJ and Dusan and Kael in their boots was great, they were loving it. I think they kept them on all day.

I rode my normal boots loose the next day, I just couldn’t have them that tight.

10.12.2020 10:43

ETHAN MORGAN SUBSTITUDED IN FOR THE LAST MINUTE OF TWEAK TIME.

MORE FLEX = MORE FUN

PROOFED_213 NORTHWAVE.indd 89

MAKE SURE YOU STRETCH BEFORE TRYING THIS ONE YOURSELF.

WE CAN HEAR THE BOOTS SQUEAKING FROM HERE.

10.12.2020 10:43

CEES WILLE INTERVIEW

Last January, Cees Wille dropped a hammer of a part titled ‘Fake Snow’. What many of us didn’t know was that at the same time the part was blowing up, Cees had suffered a fractured skull while shooting in the streets, and had lost the feeling in the left side of his body. Almost a year on, we caught up with him to get some more insights into the injury and his mindset for the recovery process that’s followed.

INTERVIEW: THEO ACWORTH PHOTOS: TIM SCHIPHORST

Yo Big Cees, how you doing?

Doing fine, doing fine thanks. You? All good thanks, where are you right now?

I’m in Holland. First I was in a hospital in Norway for a month, and then three and a half months in a rehabilitation clinic in the Netherlands because I wasn’t totally able to take care of myself living on my own. Then my sister moved in with her boyfriend, so I moved into her place, right in the middle of Den Haag, super cute tiny house, 18th century. I wouldn’t say it’s in the ghetto, but kinda. There’s a supermarket just around the corner, which is great. But my sister just broke up with her boyfriend and now wants to move back in here.

Damn!

Yeah I was just starting to feel it here, but on the other hand, I was really thankful to be able to stay here for the first six months, because it made things a lot easier.

21.3

Can you take us through the slam in Norway? What exactly happened?

Yeah of course. We were out, Tim [Schiphorst], Kas [Lemmens], Ivika [Jürgenson] on the first trip of the season to Norway at the beginning of January. Bit of a late start.

I stopped working in November and just wanted to be on it. In the first week of the trip, I got the call to join the Fix global team and film a small intro video. So we finished that, and a lot of stress came off my shoulders. We sent in the video, and the same day we were at this famous spot,

PROOFED_M213 CEES.indd 90

and I was sort of able to ride it in my own way. It was a two-and-a-half storey building with a fence and a big diesel tank for construction vehicles. So if you stood on the building, you had to jump over the fence into the tank. It all looked pretty cool, and I didn’t want to have a kicker or anything, just pop over the fence into the tank. The ollie worked out pretty good, and I thought it would be sick to nollie it. The fence had all these wires in it, so the filming looked really cool, Tim could get really close with the fisheye and film through them. It felt good, but we were winching it, which is really shitty for something like that because you need to have the right timing for the nollie.

I got it and felt really confident. As far as I remember we were satisfied with the clip but just wanted to get it perfect. I haven’t seen the shot yet, but I guess I fucked up the speed with the winch. I was leaning too far forward and couldn’t get the pop out of the nollie. I didn’t clip the fence, but I flipped over it and landed between the diesel tank and the building. And I guess I hit my head on an ice block, or maybe the tube that goes from the tank into the building, and it fractured my skull. I wasn’t unconscious, but one side of my vision was black, and the other side was fully seeing stars. I knew it wasn’t good, and I wasn’t sure if I was about to pass out, but I thought shit, no, I need to stay awake. Tim asked if I was ok, I said yeah, but that slam was intense. He told me I was bleeding, a lot. I wanted to take off my glove, but I couldn’t lift up my wrist. So I thought for sure I had broken it, and that the trip was over.

I don’t like riding with injuries and want to have a healthy body on a trip, so I was kinda bummed because Norway is

10.12.2020 10:44

such an expensive country and I wanted to get more out of it. Then Tim told me again, ‘Dude, you’re bleeding quite a lot, should I call an ambulance?’ I said no at first, but then ok, I needed to go to the hospital anyways, so Tim called them. They came pretty quickly, in ten or fifteen minutes.

But I was just in a t-shirt and a long sleeve in the snow, freezing cold, just wanted to get it over with. Fuck this trip, I just want to get my body temperature back up.

How did things go when the ambulance guys got there?

They asked if I wanted to go on the stretcher and I said no, I’ll do it myself, but I couldn’t really get up, but I didn’t fully realise it at the time, because they helped me. So they put me on the stretcher, and when I got to the hospital, there were five or seven people ready with scissors to cut off my clothes. My favourite snowboard pants, no! But fuck it, I don’t care. In two seconds, I was butt naked on the table.

Ok! I had the scan, and I remember I was pretty calm, and when I came out, they told me that I didn’t break anything.

Ok, that’s nice. All I was thinking was that I had to get warm, my bones felt cold. But they said because I hit my head quite hard I had to go to Oslo for a brain scan because they had more experience with that sort of thing there. I said, of course, I’d rather be checked out too many times than not enough. Tim and Kas came in and asked if they should call my parents and let them know, and I said yeah, tell them I’m in the hospital but didn’t break anything, give them some good news, you know? I was just there for checks, that’s what I was thinking. So I took a helicopter to Oslo and felt like I was finally getting warmer. Then I arrived alone in Oslo, and they straight away told me that they had to do a skull operation. Wait, what? I was just told I didn’t break anything, I don’t want an operation. But they said they were worried there might be splinters of bone floating around in my brain. I didn’t know what to do or what to think. It was pretty emotional. I thought ok, they’re not going to do an operation if it isn’t needed, it must be a good thing for me. I told them ok and good luck, and I had the operation right away. It was almost 3 hours.

Were you awake for it?

No, they put me to sleep, which was nice, and lucky! The next day I woke up and half of my head was shaved, and the other side was still curls to my shoulders! I remember going to the toilet, I couldn’t move properly, and I needed assistance to get there. I just wanted to be alone there and sit for at least half an hour! I thought man, it was a mission to get here. There was a mirror there, and I looked so beaten down. Just a cold stone steel face and a horrible haircut! Dude! I just started laughing about it because it was so intense. I looked like some beaten down Viking who’d just lost a war or something.

So I don’t really know the details, but at what point did you realise that you didn’t have full mobility and that this was more than a skull fracture?

When they told me they had to do the operation, that’s when I could place the lack of movement on the complete left side of my body. I’ve been thinking about this because I was laying down all the time in stretchers and beds and didn’t have to move my legs, I thought that it was just my arm. So because I didn’t have to move, I wasn’t thinking about my legs. I didn’t place it. I was so in my head about how cold it was, I just wanted to get warm before I could even think. So when they said that they needed to do the operation, I realised that not only can I not move my leg, but I also cannot feel it. There was just nothing. For a week after the operation, there was no sensitivity on the left side. Nothing. At the beginning, I was really tired and beaten down from the operation and couldn’t even think about it. Then after four or five days, I started to realise, damn, this is so bad. I can’t move. I need to be able to move.

This is not good. The feeling should come back, right?

That must have been terrifying. At what point did you have the first signs of movement again?

PROOFED_M213 CEES.indd 91

After five days, I had the first little movement in my thumbnail. I was able to move the nail, not even the full thumb, but I could move it up and down. I remember waking up in the night, and thinking that there was movement. I took the blanket off and saw the thumbnail going up and down. I just cried so much, because right away I thought that this is at the end of my arm, so there’s a signal going through my whole arm and connecting to the end of my thumb. That’s good. It’s small, but it’s something. It gave me so much hope. Just hoping there would be something. The days got so much easier after that, everything went upwards right away.

Damn Cees, that’s gnarly. What was the following month like after that first movement? I remember getting your emails, and we were all so so stoked to hear how positive you were being and the progress you were making.

Well it went from the thumb to my index finger, so I could connect those and make, not a fist, but something like a fist with those two fingers. Then the middle finger and the wrist. The two smaller fingers didn’t really want to join at first. Then there was a bit of shoulder movement, and I was able to use my biceps and triceps to move my arm up and down. But after three and a half weeks, I still had no movement in my legs. I already had the date to fly to Holland, and I told the physio that I was really thankful that we were working so much with the arm, but can we focus on the leg? I need the leg. And he said that if there’s no sensitivity or activation, then we can’t do anything with it. Fuck, that’s so true. Even if you want to, if there’s no movement, you cannot do anything. Whenever I couldn’t sleep, I started to crawl myself into the wheelchair in the middle of the night and put my feet on the ground and tried to set myself off with my toes, instead of my hands.

Just closing my eyes and meditating, kinda. Just thinking about what I can do to make it move. The guy said I should try not to watch too much tv. That’s why I started emailing, just sending a little bit of an update. I wasn’t on social media, I just wanted to be by myself with no distractions. I didn’t want to see anyone riding pow, you know? I would have lost my concentration. I couldn’t be bothered to tell everyone the same story and have them feel sad for me.

I know everyone meant it in a good way, but I just had so little energy, the rehab took so much energy, I just wanted to be a bit egotistic and just think about myself.

The Norwegian homies wanted to come by, but I couldn’t handle it. I was sleeping most of the time and wanted to be at the physio already, just be prepared for the tasks there and asking them for extra homework, you know?

Then sleeping, that was it. So it was my left side that was paralysed, is that the right English word?

Yeah.

So I said ok, I’ll do it with my right leg with my eyes closed and just imagine that my left leg is joining. In the last weekend of that month, I had a little bit of movement in my feet, and sensitivity in my leg. Not activity, but sensitivity. I had to have two people holding me so I could stand. I felt, not really sorry, but I felt so weak that they were helping me, but so happy that they were trying with me. Damn dude. Snowboarding is for sure really important, but I was thinking that I couldn’t even go for a walk on the beach anymore. Just small things that I maybe wasn’t thankful for before. Damn, I need so much help, I would really like to be independent. I was able to stand a little bit on my own, and walk a bit with guidance from two people.

I remember your email saying you were ‘landing new tricks’ like going to the toilet solo and wiping your butt!

That’s some seriously inspiring positivity. What was the move back to Holland like?

I had to go to the rehabilitation clinic in February, but first I had to go to the hospital for MRSA quarantine. I also had to quarantine for it in Norway and just wanted to start the rehab program right away, but I was told that I couldn’t. I

10.12.2020 10:44

couldn’t have visits from friends and stayed there for one week, then went to the rehab clinic. It was really nice that it was possible for me to be there, but really hard to be surrounded full time by people who’d been in motorcycle accidents and who had brain diseases.

Damn, that must have been a heavy environment to be in.

It’s heavy. I don’t know, I just really wanted to be there.

I was the only younger person there. Some of the 50 or 60-year-olds had kinda given up, they didn’t want to be there. I tried telling them that they should be thankful to be there, and they told me that I was being way too positive. I told them to try and see it from the other side, if you have a chance to get better here, then you should be thankful for that. So I thought I had to isolate myself from these people a bit to keep my energy, because I really needed it.

How long were you in this rehab centre?

Three and a half months. But after two and a half, my parents picked me up for the weekend so I could stay with them for some time. My parents are retired, but they used to be police officers, so it felt like they were picking me up from jail or something! We were joking about it. Getting out, going back in again.

TOR LUNDSTROM INTERVIEW

I remember in one of your next update emails you said that you’d been out on your bike, I guess that must have been a pretty big milestone for you to be able to get out and roll again?

Oh, man, I love biking. I’ve always loved it, just being free, being in the open air, just going wherever you want. That for sure was the thing that I looked forward to the most back then. I wasn’t looking at snowboarding too much, to be honest, because that was so far out of sight. So I said alright, I would be stoked to get out of bed and into the wheelchair. Then I wanted to be out of the chair and walking. And then I wanted to be biking. The bike was a close goal, something realistic, you know? You can be going way faster than walking, and you’re static because you’re not moving your feet too much, so it should be easier than walking too, right? So I was coming up with all these solutions. I think the snowboard mindset helped me a lot too. Like when you do a nosepress, and you don’t make it to the end of the rail, you think, why? Maybe I’m going too slow, or leaning too much this way, or that way.

So when I started walking, I was thinking so much about it. What am I doing with the left side, are my butt muscles contracting, am I standing alright. I think that was a big advantage.

I guess being aware of your body in that way isn’t something that everyone does.

Definitely, we’re wired strangely.

21.3

So if you don’t mind me asking, how is your day to day movement at the moment? Are you still using support systems to get around?

Now it’s going really good, I don’t need any support. I just finished the rehabilitation clinic. I left after three and a half months, but I was still going back for mental therapy and physical therapy like physio and swimming, but I finished that two weeks ago. I got fired from there, in a good way, because I’m doing alright! But I’m still going to physio at my friend’s place. I’m able to do day-today things now. I feel like the muscles are working really good individually, but if I’m running or doing balancing or reaching out with my arms and playing a game, I get this spasm on the left side of my body. Mostly in my leg, it starts shaking quite a lot. And by breathing and trying to get control of that, it gets less. I still notice progress, almost 11 months later. That’s really a big motivation to keep on going. When I wake up, I crawl to this mat and just play with my body, stretch my legs, I have this tennis ball that I put under my feet. I do it sort of like meditation. Just

PROOFED_M213 CEES.indd 92

feeling every little sensation. I close my eyes when I do it.

If you’re not watching, then you can feel things better, you can close down a lot of other external things and just focus on yourself. So I stretch twice a day, morning and evening.

I also started to do yoga which helps a lot and also doing cold dips. There’s this crazy Dutch guy who says you can control your nerve system with breathing.

I’ve heard about that.

So I’m trying to do this breathing technology stuff too.

Every little thing that could help, I’m trying.

I think there’s a lot to be said about things you can do with your own body, to help your own body.

Definitely, I’m so certain that if you’re positive, something will happen.

Your positivity has been amazing Cees, that must have played a big role in where you are now. Do you feel that your progression is increasing in speed as each month goes by?

It’s hard to say because when you finish one step, you’re already on the next thing. Now I’m thinking about snowboarding! I still have contact with the physio from Norway. He told me he had goosebumps all over his body when he saw how much I’d been progressing since he first saw me.

That’s rad.

To hear that from him gave me the realisation that it was going really fucking well. You have to be grateful for the things you accomplish, but you can so quickly overlook them because you want to have more. It’s like, ok dude, I’m walking, I’m almost running, that’s great. I’m already snowboarding!

You are?! Holy shit dude!

Yeah, I’ve been snowboarding a bit!

I didn’t know, fuck, that’s so rad. Congrats!

Fucking stoked about that.

Mate I have goosebumps myself right now.

I right away get a smile on my face thinking about it. I haven’t been for a little while. But I’ve been three times, for an hour. My first thought before I went was that I was way better at snowboarding than walking, and then the snowboarding really sucked, of course. Fuck, this is not the way it should feel, damn it, this sucks. Then I just told myself, dude, relax, it’s the first time, I have to get the feeling again. I was too focussed on it being good, I had to relax. It’s not strange that it sucked. I was really worried because it was almost feeling like I was snowboarding one-footed. I didn’t have much contact point with the left boot. Then the third time was way better. I thought I’d ride switch a little bit, just to stimulate the left side more than the right, instead of compensating with the right.

That happens so quickly with your body if one side isn’t working with the other. Do your remember JP Walker’s part in This Video Sucks? He did the whole part switch. I just put that in my daily life too, grabbing things with my left hand, brushing my teeth with the left hand, wiping my butt with the left hand. You don’t do it often, but being able to do it is nice!

Full switch training. That’s rad. I’m still blown away to hear that you’ve been snowboarding less than a year after the slam and surgery. The idea of you riding without your bucket hat is weird though, maybe we could get you a custom bucket helmet in the same colourway? *laughs* I’m down.

Honestly dude, so stoked to hear how well you’ve been doing.

It’s been a long, intense and really unsure time. For me, it was hard to realise because I couldn’t place the injury

10.12.2020 10:44

at first. I look normal and healthy, all the muscles in my legs are still there. To feel that you cannot activate them is really hard. Normally if you’re hurt then you’re bruised, or you’re in a cast, but I just couldn’t feel it or see it, because the injury was on my head. And I was bald dude! I’ve never had such short hair.

Seeing how far you’ve come in ten months, we have no doubt that in another ten you’ll be so much further, and you’ll also have your long curls back. We’re all so stoked for you Cees.

Thanks Theo.

Ok, I think we can wrap things up there. Thanks so much for talking so openly with us, really appreciate you taking the time. Of course we’re big fans of your snowboarding, but we’re mainly big fans of Big Cees himself. Your positivity through this has been the most amazing thing.

Really hope to see you before too long!

Yeah really hope to see you soon too.

Big love from everyone in Innsbruck. Any shoutouts or closing words?

Definitely shoutout to my mom for being so full of love, so strong and so optimistic. My sister & dad for the good care. Kas & Tim & Bob for all the help while I scared them.

Vans for keeping my head above water. And everybody who reached out! Words do heal. I thank you all for that.

BIG STEEZE FROM BIG CEES.

PROOFED_M213 CEES.indd 93

10.12.2020 10:44

MORITZ, NORDKETTE.

YANNECK, KALTENBACH.

V2_PROOFED_213 YAS.indd 94

10.12.2020 13:24

E

ach new generation of riders adds their own unique flavour into the snowboard mixing bowl, and YAS are no exception. They came up in the contest circuit, and now in their early twenties are already branching out with art installations, photo exhibitions and video screenings, showcasing their own blend of power and creativity.

I think we were about 15 when we created the crew. We came up with the name „Young and Savage” and thought it sounded really cool at the time. I’m not sure how I feel about the name now, but I think it’s still sick because it has this vibe of a naïve rookie to it. Since then we’ve evolved a lot, both as human beings and snowboarders. During this time, we got to know each other really well and learned how to realise projects as a crew. I am really stoked that this is now working out so well.

Thanks to Felix Weise, our videographer, we are were able to step up our cinematic game. This was a big step for us, as we can now focus solely on snowboarding. Before that, we had to film each other, which made things complicated and resulted in having few and sketchy shots.

Our goal is creating content that makes people want to go shred. For me, the most rewarding part of this is showing people what we’ve been shooting and seeing how they react to it. We premiered a video during an event in March 2020, and we got a lot of good feedback from the homies who came to watch it. We also set up a photo gallery at this event in which we presented pics by Mr Niklas Nischke, the same photos that you can now marvel at in this article. Enjoy!

Cheers from Mo and the YAS gang.

Leonardo Sitzia Samy Kautner Yanneck Konda

MORITZ & LEONARDO. NORDKETTE.

Words and collages: Moritz Amsüss Photos: Niklas Nischke

21.3

V2_PROOFED_213 YAS.indd 95

10.12.2020 13:24

MORTIZ , KALTENBACH.

MORTIZ & NIKLAS.

V2_PROOFED_213 YAS.indd 96

10.12.2020 13:24

LEONARDO, NORDKETTE. SAMY, KALTENBACH.

V2_PROOFED_213 YAS.indd 97

10.12.2020 13:24

MORTIZ , KALTENBACH. MORITZ, NORDKETTE.

YANNECK, KALTENBACH.

21.2

V2_PROOFED_213 YAS.indd 98

10.12.2020 13:24

YANNECK, KALTENBACH.

LEONARDO, NORKDETTE.

V2_PROOFED_213 YAS.indd 99

10.12.2020 13:24

I

’d met Ken Pollu a few times already, but we never hung out together for long. I heard about his summer snowboard plans for the quarantine period, but we didn’t actually know if it would be possible to go anywhere. I was trapped in my van and not able to leave Austria, and we ended up far away, 2,750m at Kaunertal with only one objective: shred for as long as possible.

INTERVIEW & PHOTOS: IGOR SWIECZACK

KAUNI & KENNY

21.3

PROOFED_213 KAUNI N KENI.indd 100

So Kenny, why Kaunertal?

Probably because there is some special magic involved… When you pass the gate on the glacier road, it feels like you’re going into the wild. The road literally leads up to the end of the world, on the border between Austria and Italy. During spring, it gave us the possibility to escape from reality and get some fresh powder turns. In summer the marmots are hustling around this ‘Hobbit land’ getting ready for another long and cold winter. In autumn it’s mostly freezing, and in the winter I’ve heard there is almost no sun down in the valley. On the way up you see how nature is changing, step by step it gets more wild and rocky on the top, and in mid-summer, it feels like you’re an astronaut that’s landed on the Moon or Mars or something like this. This is just nuts!

What was your first experience in Kaunertal?

Cold and windy! It was the 18th of October 2016. We had no idea where we were going, or what was waiting for us. The first time on this road with my old ‘Yellow Time Machine’ bus felt a bit gnarly because I’d never driven anything like that before. Uhh, good and scary memories! The Ochsenalm chairlift was running, and we were welcomed by a completely empty parking lot, wind and temperatures in the minus degrees. Temperatures during the daytime and shredding were good, but the nights were freezing. My friend and I even slept with our backs together to keep some heat, which kind of worked. We stayed a couple of nights until we burned all the diesel from the bus and we had to get back down to the valley. Emotions were still high, and we were motivated, but after these cold pre-season days and nights up there, I was not so sure about when and why I will be back at Kauni!

10.12.2020 13:31

AN EXPLORER IN AN EXTRA TERRESTRIAL LANDSCAPE.

SURF’S UP AT 2750M.

PROOFED_213 KAUNI N KENI.indd 101

10.12.2020 13:31

Tell us about the locals.

I first met Fabi Fraidl in February 2017 in Penken Park, Mayrhofen. Our shred connected so well on the first day, and he said straight away “In Spring you have to come and visit me and we’ll go riding in Kauni”. This feeling when you meet friendly locals, and they are keen to show you around – it’s just awesome. During these few spring shreds I fell in love with the Kaunertal mountains and as time went by I came here more and more often. I met so many beautiful people, mostly shredders but even some cool young farmers down in the village. And of course - Man of the Mountain - Andi Grieser! He’s a local legend who started snowboarding here in Kaunertal before I was even born. Andy is a true snowboarder and a true personality! He is also smart and has tons of knowledge about mountains. In summer 2019 we spent plenty of time up here, and he told me some stories... about everything... about life - like father to son.

Kaunertal snowboarding history goes back more than 30 years, and Andy knows a lot about it. For me, it’s always a pleasure to listen and educate myself. I love and respect snowboarding so much that in my opinion, it’s really important to know about the culture overall. Listening to these stories you can tell that snowboarding has for sure changed, but it’s a natural evolution that matches the wider change in people and their mindsets. For me, real talk and knowledge are more important. Now I can say that Kaunertal and big mountain riding - compared to street snowboarding - really opened my eyes and I see much more in snowboarding nowadays compared to a few years back. In my opinion, it is just about feelings during this “growing up process”, and in the end, we all wanna do what we love - I love snowboarding, and I know that Fabi and Andi do as well!

KAUNI & KENNY

21.3

So what did you do during Corona?

During the first lockdown of 2020, I already had a fixed plan in my head and in my heart! I’m going to Kaunertal!

No matter what! In the beginning, when the situation was super intense, and nobody knew how long this madness was gonna last, I was super ready to pack bags, get a tent and somehow make it up to Kauni. Luckily things calmed down, and we got this magical week of shredding at the end of May, and my plan also got more mellow. There is just some special magic in Kaunertal.

They love snowboarding as much as me! About this week - thanks to the Austrian pro snowboarders and of course thanks to Kaunertal - we got nine days of summer snowboarding with a running lift, pop-up snowpark and the best vibes that you could ever imagine. Happy, smiley faces all over the place! People were so stoked about it, it was just unbelievably beautiful. Literally on my first run down, full bluebird, proper X-games conditions a.k.a winter, it was fast, and I got my white moustache with the first turn - in the end of the May! So sick! I sprayed some skiers and literally cried with happiness. I was pretty much the first in the park, made my hotlaps and enjoyed the rest of the day when it got crowded, hiked some of my favourite features and the whole time the weather was treating us so well. Some people asked me “How long you will stay? All week?” They were pretty surprised when I told them that I’d probably stay until mid-July, or until the rideable snow melts! And of course, I told them that if the weather gets bad, I can always visit my “Momma and Papa”, Fabi and Laura. They are really taking care of me, and I am always trying to behave and be a good kid when I stay with them. Usually doing different tasks at home like taking the trash out, DIY and repairs if it’s needed, just trying to be a decent child! And I still love this feeling of being a kid, it’s the best! Your soul just feels so free to live without real responsibilities, it’s awesome!

THE LIFTS MIGHT HAVE STOPPED, BUT THE FUN DOESN’T.

LOCAL LEGEND ANDI GRIESER WITH HIS SIGNATURE FRONTFLIP.

PROOFED_213 KAUNI N KENI.indd 102

10.12.2020 13:31

FABI FRAIDL NEVER STOPS.

PROOFED_213 KAUNI N KENI.indd 103

10.12.2020 13:31

Let’s talk about Kauni summer shred.

We have our own private glacier pretty much. Yeah, no running lift for snowboarding but there’s enough snow in the first half of summer, and it’s a huge playground just for us! Mornings were usually hiking up for some really nice rides on the Äsmo snowsurf, and after a siesta, we’d build a quarter or whatever and shred the maximum out of it! We’d siesta because of the midday heat, building and all this stuff is pretty gnarly when the sun is up high.

Usually, we chill harder than anybody else, eat good food and figure the out next target. It’s a beautiful life up here, can’t complain!

KAUNI & KENNY

Now back to reality. Living a shred life, in a tent up on the glacier during the summer of 2020, what does it mean?!?

First of all, it means that you never can trust the weather forecast and you have to be ready like a soldier for next the “Mordor” that’s rolling in, it’s everyday business!

Sometimes it’s so gnarly, the wind appears from nowhere, and ice balls are falling from the sky. During the night the glacier is kind of scary but super peaceful, nobody is there! This feeling of comparing yourself to these huge mountain faces - it really showed me how tiny we humans are, compared to Mother Nature. Here in Kauni, I learned that we need to have eyes in the back of our head as well. During the summer the rockfalls are sometimes like huge avalanches, they’re just massive. Mostly you can hear them, but spotting them is hard. That’s one of the main pause moment during the hike up - if you hear it, first you look around that your area is safe and then you try to figure it out where it comes from. It’s like a game, and if there’s someone to share it with you, it’s always better! But on the other hand, we still need to stay serious.

For example, I try to always be aware of the other people I see, what they’re doing and where they’re going. When I bombed the glacier face on the Äsmo, later that day I saw a group of three hikers, coming down by foot from the top of this gnarly steep face. One moment a person starts sliding, and the next second I heard a woman screaming and then she was gone, she felt into a crevasse in the glacier. Luckily the others helped her out in 5 minutes, and everything seemed to be okay. It’s just not about taking care of yourself, it’s really important to look around and know what’s up because when the lady was out and the group on the move again, some crazy skier came, exactly next to them and triggered a huge avalanche! It came down with so much power that I felt the ground shaking. It was so huge and so gnarly! Everyone was safe, but I’ll remember this day forever! And yeah, these Äsmo lines, they felt fucking goooood! I did two of them! Pure awesomeness!

Kaunertal just always delivers some good vibes together with this special Kauni magic! For me - this place is my paradise! It’s a place to charge your internal batteries and really escape from reality, from urbanisation, from people.

Just you & nature! It’s like a healing process after an injury, but for the soul!

21.3 21.2

PROOFED_213 KAUNI N KENI.indd 104

ÄSMO HILL BOMBS FOR THE SOUL.

10.12.2020 13:31

PROOFED_213 KAUNI N KENI.indd 105

10.12.2020 13:31

Japan Japan Japan. I love you so much.

My crew was Big Boss Chef Louif Paradis, Toni Kerkela, Phil Jacques, and cameramen Jon Stark and Ian Boll. Some people watch TV all day, Louif is looking at Google Earth for hours and hours! He’s looking at hybrid snowboard spots, mixing B.C and street. Like spots on structures so big that you can see them from space. The first week was a tourist tour of all the dams, bridges, structures (with a big S) on Hokkaido. Also spotting any Äsmo friendly terrain along our roads in order to get our legs stretched during these lonnnng days of driving.Then once we had enough « spotto » in our bag we started the serious business, which mean hours of shapes and crazy bangers. Every three days we were doing a pow day, which was really amazing. I also improvised myself as a mountain guide. We got lost and had a crazy hike and came back to the car in the dark. The guys were pissed, but in the end, very happy to give me shit for the rest of the trip. We also found a crazy abandoned ski resort, with creepy hotels.

As usual, Japan kept its promises for powder, amazing food, and a lot of fun with friends. - Perly

PROOFED_213 PERLY.indd 106

09.12.2020 23:22

PROOFED_213 PERLY.indd 107

09.12.2020 23:22

Photo: Perly Rider: Louif Paradis Location: Hokkaido, Japan Trick: Stress Testing

PROOFED_M213 GALLERY.indd 108

09.12.2020 23:13

21.3

Photo: Perly Rider: Phil Jaques Location: Hokkaido, Japan Trick: Trespassing

PROOFED_M213 GALLERY.indd 109

09.12.2020 23:13

Photo: Matt Georges Rider: Blake Paul Location: Chamonix, France Trick: Puff

PROOFED_M213 GALLERY.indd 110

09.12.2020 23:13

21.3

Photo: Matt Georges Rider: Markus Keller Location: St Luc, Switzerland Trick: Cropping a photo and turning it sideways

PROOFED_M213 GALLERY.indd 111

09.12.2020 23:13

Photo: Ben Girardi Rider: Chris Rasman Location: Somewhere snowy Trick: Making us jealous

PROOFED_M213 GALLERY.indd 112

09.12.2020 23:13

Photo: Oli Gagnon Rider: Kennedi Deck Location: Trondheim, Norway Trick: Dominating steel 21.3

PROOFED_M213 GALLERY.indd 113

09.12.2020 23:13

21.3

PROOFED_M213 GALLERY.indd 114

Photo: Stephan Jende Rider: Jakob Krugmire Location: IMRIS Trick: Matching his shirt to the wall

09.12.2020 23:13

PROOFED_M213 GALLERY.indd 115

09.12.2020 23:13

A PROOFED_2 M213 GUIDE.indd 116

09.12.2020 16:20

A PROOFED_2 M213 GUIDE.indd 118

09.12.2020 16:20

21.3

Outerwear & Accessories Buyer’s Guide ‘20/’21

What would you write as an introduction to an outerwear and accessories guide? We’ve basically just given you all the information you need in the first sentence, it’s a guide for outerwear and accessories, and each and every one of them is fantastic.

You don’t need to know much more than that really.

If you think you could come up with a better intro than this, please email us so we can use it for next year’s guide. In the meantime, flick those pages and feast your eyes on what’s on offer for this season. Method PREVIOUS PAGE: HARRY KEARNEY PHOTO: BEN GIRARDI THIS PAGE: BRYAN IGUCHI PHOTO: OLI GAGNON

A PROOFED_2 M213 GUIDE.indd 119

09.12.2020 16:22

PROOFED_M213 GOODBYE.indd 152

09.12.2020 23:16

But who prays for Satan? Who, in eighteen centuries, has had the common humanity to pray for the one sinner that needed it most?

- Mark Twain GOODBYE 21.3

P O S S I B L E S ATA N I S T: PA R K E R S Z U M O W S K I PHOTO: OLI GAG NON

PROOFED_M213 GOODBYE.indd 153

09.12.2020 23:16

M213 back.indd 154

09.12.2020 23:18

Pic: Ponchikz | Blue Tomato Team Rider: Toni Kerkelä

Pic: Ponchikz | Blue Tomato Team Rider: Toni Kerkelä

Blue Tomato Book | blue-tomato.com/book instagram.com/bluetomato | #yourrideourmission

6 MM M213 COVER INSIDE.indd Wszystkie strony

09.12.2020 23:32

21.3

R E A L

S N O W B O A R D I N G

A public service announcement from Ethan Morgan and

Don’t forget to pack your suitcase, because it’s finally time to leave 2020 behind.

See ya!

6 MM M213 COVER OUTSIDE.indd Wszystkie strony

09.12.2020 23:43