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Our exclusive collaboration unites the virtually indestructible, Warrantied For Life performance of both the BoaÂŽ Closure System and New England Rope laces for the ultimate in convenience, ease, and adjustability. Available in single and dual zone set-ups, Burton Boots with BoaÂŽ provide an innovative spin on every feature. 13Things.com/Boa
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Markus really fell in love with Nitro’s Quiver Pow! After riding it in pipe at the Burton European Open in Laax, deserving the respect of all the riders and media up there, he managed to use it for a powder shooting too. Brands should pick these colours for their boards’ base more often like this one here: a true winner for all us photographers! MARKUS KELLER BY MATT GEORGES IN MAYRHOFEN, AUSTRIA
During Finland’s wintertime temperatures hardly get more than 0°, and when you find yourself shooting under a snowfall the usual question comes back again: “Why did I become a snowboarding photographer?”. Still, the opportunity of bumping into a whole powder wall to the groomer’s side, just ready to get slashed and with space enough to place your flashes at its back doesn’t happen too many times. So, fuck the cold! ANTTI AUTTI BY MATT GEORGES IN RUKA, FINLAND
I don’t like this shot at all. Despite the spine was really huge, I couldn’t find the right angle from where to highlight Marco’s jump amplitude. Unluckily, after he stomped the trick, he blew his knee and so kiss the rest of the season goodbye. Come back stronger than ever, Marchino! MARCHINO GRIGIS BY DENIS PICCOLO IN SAN DOMENICO, ITALY
TXT: GIACOMO MARGUTTI PIC: BLOTTO RIDER: BEN FURGUSON
All is not lost, yet. Take this kid with his Custom – making its 20th anniversary this season. His name is Ben Ferguson, and he’s 20 years young just like his stick under his feet. And he is one of the riders we are going to hear of more and more in the next ten years. People say he represents the future of snowboarding, because he is strong both in pipe and in slopestyle, but most of all he is fun to watch. Fun is the word here. The things he does, the tricks he invents, make you want to grab your board and go out and try the same stuff. Because not only he stomps ultra technical or insane tricks like a double cork five meters above the lip of the pipe. Well, he does that too, still... not only those things. The future of snowboarding is not lost at all
DRA NOR WAV VICT DE L
because heterogeneity is hope. We cannot allow ourselves to reduce such a fun thing like snowboarding to a mere gymnastic exercises sequence: riding is a trick in park, a carve on groomers, a powder slash – not only a 20-meter street rail or some dull triple/quad corks. If it became like that, it would miss the philosophy at its core. Like Mark McMorris said to me during our long but sincere interview: “Every third run there’s someone who’s doing a triple, even kids you’ve never even heard of or seen, and then you see their Instagram and there’s bunch a trampoline videos. All the kids are trying these tricks now are trampoline aerialists. It’s fucked. It sucks.” Just have a look at what Ben Ferguson does. No, nothing is lost. Yet.
Photo: Chirs Wellhausen
AKE RTH VE TOR LE RUE
DRAKE NORTH WAVE VICTOR DE LE RU @northwavedrake #rideyourway
Drake Team 161 Drake Reload Charcoal Binding Northwave Domain Grey boots
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Check out the new TWS “ORIGINS” movie featuring the adventures of Victor De Le Rue
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Freepress Sequence Snowboarding rivista mensile registrato
FILMER SENIORS
al tribunale di Pescara il 14/05/2003 al numero 173/15
Marco Morandi
COVER
PHOTOGRAPHERS & FILMERS
Denis Piccolo
BEHIND THE COVER FIRST LAYER POWDER HOUNDS PRODUCT FOCUS KILLER COLLABS TECHNINE BOOT CAMP GOOD TIMES CAMP SPLIT SELECTION 20 YEARS OF THE CUSTOM UNION COLLECTION SUPERTRICK MONTENEGRO DREAMING BROKEN CIRCUIT MARK MCMORRIS MADE IN JAPAN WORD OUT
BY MATT GEORGES
S H E L L , S O F T S H E L L , PAC K A B L E D OW N . ELEMENTS THAT WORK TOGETHER WHEN THE ELEMENTS ARE WORKING AGAINST YOU. JEREMY JONES SYSTEM OF DRESS.
TXT & PIC: DENIS PICCOLO SNOWMAN: MARCO MORANDI
There are plenty of unforgettable moments during a jump’s construction in powder. The working hours are usually anticipated by not so much democratic discussions on where and how to build the jump itself. You go from choosing the right shovel to the neverending meal or cigarette breaks. Right during one of those breaks, our filmer Marco Morandi (better known as “Johnny the ladies’ man”) came up with the idea of getting portrayed while being sprayed, ending up with his beard all covered wiyh snow. Oh, the fights to get the privilege of being the one who could throw snow on him! As far as I’m concerned, one more time I was more than happy with just shooting the picture of it all. Nicholas Bridgman was the lucky one who had to get it done, while Simon Gruber, thanks to his German roots,
went on building and preparing the jump. Johnny’s beard is the best depiction of his manhood, thick and dense. If you take a close look at his beard, you can even glance at some weird presence who live in the bushes. Perfect for that shot, as perfect was also his old tee made of wool, legacy of some distant relatives. Perfect was the background, as well as the light... well, there we go. 3, 2, 1... action! Fast sequence and a good laugh to see Johnny completely covered up with snow, his beard frozen as a modern Santa. I couldn’t believe that everything went oh so well, with the snow flawlessly stuck to his beard. I took a look at our future cover shot and I was much happy with it. So we could finally start our sunset session off with, as we begin Sequence Magazine’s new season with Johnny’s frozen beard.
PHOTO: JOEL FRASER
SCOTT STEVENS
PURVEYORS OF THE WILD LIFE
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ITW: DENIS PICCOLO PIC: MATT GEORGES
A NEW PROJECT BY VANS AND MATT GEORGES First Layer is intended to showcase the large talent of the European Vans snowboard family: Arthur Longo, Sami Luhtanen, Will Smith, Sparrow Knox, Wolle Nyvelt, Enzo Nilo, Markus Keller, Valérian Ducourtil, Tyler Chorlton, Kalle Ohlson, DBK. Vans collected footage from the night of Lapland to the light of Patagonia passing by the Alpine powder. A good mix of street riding, backcountry and travel. The journey have been documented by the talented french photographer Matt Georges and his best shots gonna be compiled into a real printed photo booklet, released for free in the best snowboard stores all around Europe, coming together with a 10-minute web video, edited by Pirmin Juffinger. Here’s a Q&A we did with Matt Georges. WHICH WAS THE MOST DIFFICULT SHOT YOU TOOK? A street spot in Ruka, Lapland, with Sparrow Knox and Will Smith. It’s a high flat rail to gap over a staircase to a down rail. Super sketchy and pretty big, plus it was in the middle of the night in a crazy snowstorm with lots of wind and limited angles. You definitely don’t want to fuck up otherwise you go face first in another rail, crash in a wall before falling into stairs on the down floor. No one could see much and Sparrow and Will were kinda riding half closed eyes. I shot with 3 flashes but it was super cold so I had to save up batteries and get the shot super quick. They started with “easy” tricks and when they felt comfortable they sent some bangers, unfortunately at that time 1 flash was already down so it pushes you to get creative and find a way to make it look good anyway.
WHAT KEEPS YOU GOING ON SHOOTING SNOWBOARDING? First of all it’s just nice to be outside and not sit in an office all day long. Imagine this: you are paid to travel all around the world to shoot something you love. It could be worse! Of course after couple of years you can be over it sometimes, especially when it doesn’t work well, weather is shitty, budgets all around you are dying, people getting fired, riders losing they sponsors and so on. It was really nice to work together with Vans this year because they just did the opposite of most of the brands does. Instead of trying to save budget, they trusted in a cool project and put some money in there. Print is dying but still, we produced this photo book. So projects like this keeps me motivated of course! Shooting snowboarding is really expensive and if you want good results you really need to go full on, which means you need some minimum support behind. When I have it, I feel like I can do cool stuff, otherwise I think I will just do something else. I have 2 kids now and I don’t want to struggle shooting something that doesn’t bring food on the table. WHAT’S YOUR MAIN GOAL FOR THIS SEASON? I’m working on a second volume of my D.I.Y. annual book THE.DIRTY.DOGS. It will be released around January 16. We are lauching this FIRST LAYER Project collab in London at the House Of Vans, with a photo exhibition and opening party. We are working on another photo book with Vans for next winter. More news soon. Otherwise I’ll just travel around and make the most of it. Produce stuff for my faithful clients, keep working on some creative projects, alone or with other photogs or art directors.
J AK E B LAUV ELT J AKE WELCH
HANA BEAMAN
YUKI KADONO
DANIMA LS
RIDESNOWBOARDS.COM MARCO FEICHTNER 2016_WILD LIFE
BY THE EDITORIAL STAFF
ARBOR COSA NOSTRA
BURTON LANDLORD
CAPITA MERCURY
CAPITA SPRING BREAK
20 years ago, Arbor pioneered the wood-topped snowboard, pairing this aesthetic with an environmentally conscious approach to snowboard production. The Cosa Nostra packs these foundational characteristics and core values into a premium gun shaped plank for the powder sensei.
Twin balance meets directional prowess in a board that floats and flies like a dream. With Malolo roots, the Burton Landlord revives the precise stomp and surfy feel that chargers have been asking for.
The Mercury snowboard is next level awesome. This snowboard is so fun, you will not want to stop snowboarding. When it comes to all-terrain versatility, the Mercury series has little competition.
With a wide-body chassis and our Surf Rocker camber configuration, the Spring Break Slush Slashers are your affordable tool to the most memorable and fun days spent ripping around with your bros.
€ 670
€ 650
€ 529
€ 349
DC FOCUS
DRAKE GUERRILLA
FLOW DARWIN
JONES FLAGSHIP
The Focus will be your breakthrough board.A true-twin shape with forgiving flex, it’s a design engineered to help riders boost their ability. A Rocker camber profile and catch-free 3 Degree Bevel on the edges helps rider move beyond the basics quickly and confidently..
The Guerilla with its new surf shape takes the form of a backcountry board but that has been specifically designed to handle the whole mountain.
This quiver filler was designed in collaboration between Mike Basich and has been making waves for the last few years. The Darwin is not just for powder hound and backcountry enthusiasts dream board; it also works incredibly well on hard pack and all-mountain terrain.
The cornerstone of the Jones board line, as he spent two decades perfecting this freeride board design and thousands of riders worldwide now revere the Flagship as the most confidence inspiring snowboard on the planet.
€ 299
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BY THE EDITORIAL STAFF
K2 CARVE AIR
KORUA APOLLO
LIBTECH ATTACK BANANA
NITRO DIABLO
“Take a solid all mountain ripping slopetool, but then chop and widen it for maximum air and laydown carves and you get this quick and nimble fun making machine. It’s most happy spinning, flipping, tweaking, slush bashing, powder partying, ice shaving, and ripping all things awesome,” Tim Eddy.
Short but float, this board is really nice in the trees, the short length still allows fast moves. Even though the look reminds us of a retro fish the overall characteristics give it quite the feel of riding a shortboard in small clean waves.
The all terrain quiver killer. This board has enough pop and stability to stomp anything, floats the powder, kills the park, carves the groomers and ice and effortlessly floats the pow.
The return of the greatest backcountry freestyle board Nitro ever made. The large nose and tail will allow you to float and play through the deepest of powder, and allow you to butter all over the mountain on those slushy spring days.
€ 450
€ 399
NITRO QUIVER POW 154
RIDE BERZERKER
SLASH NAHUAL
T9 LM BLOCKFATHER
Hand designed by Austin Smith in his Bend, OR home. This board was designed to be as quick as possible, without loosing the float you need in nipple deep pow.
Its rocker under the tip and its camber under your feet give it right that perfect float and that optimised stability we all search when charging in powder. To cut a long story short, it’s an awesome board, an all-mountain hybrid with an intermediate flex for anything and everything.
Manuel Diaz’s Nahual is a twin directional construction type of board with a centered stance. The combination of the Flat camber and a slight rocker on the nose increases the board’s floatation and enhances the responsiveness.
Lucas Magoon wanted a second pro-model dedicated to a historic rider like Pat Bridges, The Killington Blockfather. It’s a fun board, perfect for park despite its curious shape. Gooner uses it in SFD too, have a look at that.
€ 499
€ 459
SIMON GRUBER
REXFORD MITT UNIQUE DESIGN • SUPER WARM • GREAT COMFORT • FULL LEATHER • WATER PROOF
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Want to go mountaineering? Wonder what a game changer looks like? Jeremy Jones and 32 have built a never before seen snowboard boot that is built for the rider that is ready to explore any mountain range. 32, usally a boot company which focusses on freestyle, has designed a backcountry boot around big mountain legend Jeremy Jones, right after he finished his trilogy of movies with the end cap Higher. The Vibram outsole has already become a standard of most high-end boots, and it also has solid boot to crampon compatibility. This boot has laces, which sometimes can get frozen by the amount of snow accumulated over, but they’re protected with a Cordura gaiter - an outer layer that zips closed over the top. By having this zip over the laces, it keeps them from freezing in subzero temps and also prevents any snow from creeping into the boots while skinning. As with all 32 Boots it does feature a true Intuition liner that is heat moldable. This liner is compatible with a dedicated walking function, which makes it unique to this model of boot. The coolest fea-
ture is in fact this adjustable cuff, with a rear piece that can be lowered with the Boa® reel to give more range of motion and a longer stride when splitboarding. The flex is obviously stiff helping you out with a pivotal support when you’re charging down lines on steep faces, and goes together all the other mountain-ready features you’d need when after those big backcountry lines. Much more practical with the crampon adaptable Vibram sole which still flexes though, heel welts for metal crampon bails, sports vented, heat-moldable Intuition liners and footbeds, an internal lacing system for heel hold, that above-mentioned zippered Cordura lace cover and also taped seems for waterproofing. All these off-piste features don’t spoil the pleasure of using this MTB boot on a more average day like when you take the lifts and you ride down groomers. Just like the boot, its price is premium too, but 539€ is totally justified by its exclusivity.
TXT: GIACOMO MARGUTTI PICS: DENIS PICCOLO
LEVEL 3 FOOTBED: Custom molded Evolution foam for ultimate in lightweight and comfort Molded TPU heel cradle and arch support Dual density Evolution foam heel pod for maximum impact protection.
ding. The BoaÂŽ system in fact not being a traditional closure system for locking the foot in. When this collar is open it allows for longer strides when skinning as well as to aid in walking around either the campsite or natural features.
LEVEL 3 LINER: 100% Heat Moldable Intuition foam for a custom fit. Dual density Intuition foam for comfort, warmth and support. Internal anatomical foam overlays for optimal heel hold. Integrated pockets for heel hold kit. Neoprene toe cap to reduce toe pressure. Dual power wrap Velcro cuff closure.
STRETCH CORDURA GAITER: water proof protection, lace protection, prevents lace from freezing water proof YKK zipper.
VIBRAM OUTSOLE: traditional hiking tread with heel welt compatible for strap. PROGRESSIVE FLEX SHANK: stiffer flex at toe, torsional flex and medial/lateral support. WALK MODE COLLAR: cuff release for longer strides while split boar-
MOLDED RUBBER TOE CAP: toe protection. TAPED SEAMS: water proofing. IN SHORT: Premium Vibram outsole with traditional hiking tread, contains a walk mode collar that has a cuff release for longer strides while split boarding, stretch cordura gaiter that has water proof protection and keeps laces from freezing, has a molded rubber toe cap for protection, progressive Flex Shank for stiffer flex at toe, vented liners for heat dissipation, stiff flex, performance fit.
TXT: GIACOMO MARGUTTI PICS: DENIS PICCOLO
The idea for Melon Optics was born during a winter in the French Alps in 2012. After the winter, they escaped to remote Indonesia to surf and work on the concept and finally launched the Melon brand in June 2013 with the first goggle released in Winter 2013. The brand is about having fun and the slogan “Ride Stoked” encapsulates this: snowboarding is not about being the best boarder on the mountain or hitting the biggest kicker in the park, it’s about shredding with friends and having fun. Melon’s team is super important and everyone brings something different to the table. Right now Pucko (Nejc Puko) is killing it. He’s been filming a project which is shot entirely in the woods, where all the features have been built by himself from the natural surroundings. The concept is super different and concentrates on the idea of “riding your way”: that idea is exactly what Melon is all about. The goggles Melon create come from one of the most renowned goggle manufacturers in the world, consistently producing some of the best goggles on the market. Two main criteria about Melon goggles: 1. They don’t fog up. 2. They look fucking rad. That’s it.
Melon concentrate on creating exceptional airflow through all of the goggles so that when you’ve hiked to the top of that ridge and you’re about to drop into the best line of the day, your vision is crystal clear. Of course all the lenses are interchangeable, there are silicon lined straps and all the other features you’d expect from a quality pair of goggles. But at the end of day create goggles you want to ride in all day, everyday. The peculiar thing of Melon is that you can decide on the design of your particular goggles, as everyone is allowed to express his own style. Melon now has over 1,500 custom frame, lens and strap combinations to choose from, available both in retailers and online. There are some truly unique patterns and designs that stand out from what people are used to seeing on the mountain: it’s pretty fun. After bringing design and technical work together, the end result is a goggle that looks sick and is ready for any conditions that you want to ride in. For example, the Melon Parker is super comfortable and with a lightweight design. The cylindrical lens looks clean and the goggle as a whole is so understated.
TAKE YOUR PICK With over 1,500 custom designs to choose from, we’ve got you covered this winter
DESIGN YOUR PAIR AT: WWW.MELONOPTICS.COM
BY THE EDITORIAL STAFF
VOLCOM X OUTLANDER BRYAN IGUCHI BOOTS
NITRO ADDICT
True grit and authentic street wear style combine to create the Outlander Boot’s rugged appearance. Inspired by a classic back woods design and Volcom team rider Bryan Iguchi’s signature artwork, with tech details like a molded heel counter and an EVA heel strike for an always-comfortable fit.
Nitro worked with photographer Steven Stone to capture this feeling of addiction. Response and snap from the combination of Roof Chop camber and Bi-Lite Laminates for all day comfort. Steven added his love for women, nightlife, and unique situation to the graphics.
FILSON X BURTON WHEELIE FLIGHT DECK BAG
Leaders when it comes to outdoor gear, Filson and Burton have joined forces again for this Wheelie Flight Deck Bag. The bag takes the Burton Wheelie Bag line to the next level, adding Filson touches like the 18 oz. oil finish luggage twill construction along with leather zipper pulls and PU back panels.
JJF CAPSULE COLLECTION
GIRO X TOPO EDIT SNOW HELMET
Giro’s first collaboration with Topo Designs resulted in their lightest full-featured snow helmet ever, the Edit, which, as its name hints at, boasts a stealthily concealed GoPro mount on its forehead for straightforward POV integration. Wth Giro’s Roc Loc 5 fit system for on-the-fly adjustments and 10 vents with slide-to-adjust control.
This is the John John Florence Capsule Collection, a collaborative, “Team Designed, Custom Built” project between JJF and Nixon’s product team. Featuring a limited release of items that brings together John’s surf sensibilities, love of photography and his well-traveled perspective on the world.
DIEMME X BURTON ROVER
A snowboard boot has moved beyond the classic moon boot design. Burton has always been at the top of their game, but it has taken a collaboration with Italian based Diemme to bring a higher level of style to the classic snowboard boot design. The overall footprint is reduced by one full size: it’s way lighter, shorter, and thinner.
BURTON X NEW BALANCE
Inspired by shared New England roots and similar brand ideology, the Burton x New Balance collection will offer three New Balance outdoor footwear SKUs and three limited edition Burton snowboard boot styles that merge distinct design aesthetics from both brands.
P: E-Stone
DYLAN THOMPSON WWW.TECHNINE.COM
TXT: GIACOMO MARGUTTI SELECTION: DENIS PICCOLO
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Splitboarding is not even the next big thing. It is the thing, nowadays. Once there were mini-skis and people used to walk and suffer with boards hung on their huge backpacks, while now it is way more simple: a board divided in two, that’s it that’s all fellas. Game, set, match. Perfect for seeking out pillows, lines and fresh untracked powder, splitboards have created their own wide open market reaching a broader audience than what it 1. Burton AK 3L Hover 2. G3 Alpinist Climbing Skins 3. G3 Scapegoat Carbon 4. Karakoram PrimeCarbon 5. Melon Chief 6. The North Face Modulator Abs Backpack 7. Lib Tech T-Rice Hp 8. Burton AK Balaclava 9. Stinky Socks Yawgoons 10. Mammut Pulse Barryvox 11. Jones Solution 12. Burton Ak Abs Vario Cover
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used to be only a few years ago. The number of splitboards’ aficionados is steadily growing more and more, as reaching the top of the mountain without the help of mechanical lifts mainly means two things: a lot more per-
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sonal satisfaction, plus avoiding all the riding weekenders. Splitboarding market not only includes the basics of it, like boards, bindings and boots (both special – to walk and hike in the most natural way), but also lots of hi13. Anon Blitz 14. K2 Ultrasplit Splitboard Skin 15. Jones Hovercraft 16. Burton Photon Boa 17. Quiksilver Travis Rice 18. Burton Ft Landlord 19. K2 Ultrasplit 20. Spark Arc 21. Ortovox Free Rider Abs. 22. Anon M3 23. Burton AK Clutch 24. Burton Ak 3L Freebird 25. Level Stealth
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have a look here as we shuffled some of the most interesting items on the market, just to come up with some kind of general idea about what you need to pick splitboarding soon to become your next addiction, beware. 26. The North Face freethinker 27. Burton Custom 28. Thirtytwo MTB Jeremy Jones 29. Mammut Element 30. Burton FT Fish 31. Evoc Zipon Abs 32. Spark Ibex 33. Burton Hitchhiker 34. Karakoram Split 30 35. Voile Revelator Split 36. Pieps Jetforce
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This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Burton Custom. The Custom has become one of the most versatile boards in the industry, and in turn, has become a foundation piece for Burton line-up of snowboards. The Custom shape has spawned additional shapes like the Custom X, Custom Twin, Custom Smalls, and a number of other boards in the line. And to celebrate the 20th year of the Custom, Burton continued to build off of the shape by evolving a new, super lightweight Mystery Custom, and an accessibly priced Custom Split board. Often imitated, never outdone, and backed by a 20-year legacy as snowboarding’s one-board answer to all terrain. Since its humble beginnings, innovation has defined the Burton Custom Snowboard series and set it apart as the most popular, versatile, and mimicked board in snowboarding. These days, the one-board answer to all terrain celebrates its 20-year reign with a proven formula that combines time-honored design and envelope-pushing ingredients for a lightweight, poppy, and stable snowboard that were unheard of two decades ago. The two main versions are offered with the precision and stability of camber (the top choice for pros like Mikkel Bang), while Flying V combines camber’s power with the relaxed float of rocker for the best of both worlds. Versatility is the key here: it can push the boundaries everywhere on the mountain from steep lines to slashes fresh snow, equally passing through freestyle tricks. Burton Snowboards also reissued a handful of iconic snowboards as part of their Backyard and Holiday collections for the 2016 Winter Season, and of
course the Burton Custom 20th Anniversary edition will be a cambered, directional twin with medium flex. Available in three sizes, it will feature base graphics from 1997 (151cm), 1999 (154cm) and 2000 (158cm). CUSTOM TWIN: The sections are angled to line up with the stance of a duck-footed park rider. The edges, too, vary slightly – not in the shape of the depth of sidecut as with other asym boards, but in where on each side the ‘Frostbite’ edge protrudes out to grip the slope. If you like park riding, go for the Custom Twin. CUSTOM FLYING V: The most fun to ride. It’s fast and holds an edge well at speed, but when going a little slower it’s super fun on side hits and for general jibbing, as it combines the float of rocker with the power of camber for a snappy yet surfy package.CUSTOM X: An aggressive All Mountain camber board with a tough and rough personality: so don’t expect from it an easy float and catch free edges, but just able to carve amazingly and with an even more powerful pop. CUSTOM SPLIT: This season the icon of the icons also developed a split personality. Without a doubt the most versatile board ever build, with the new Burton Custom Split you can put two feet forward towards an all-new world of self-propelled ascents and untracked adventures. CUSTOM MISTERY: The lightest weight board Burton has ever made with the Custom’s versatile and venerated shape. The result is an aggressive all-mountain machine that practically hovers over any terrain you take it on.
TXT: GIACOMO MARGUTTI
rk & Nightpark Setup Snowpa RK: SETUP SNOWPA ked Rainbow Box, Kin m), n Rail, Halfpipe (100 m, 4,5 ow il,D Ra , Rail, Wallride, 10 Kicker (2 – 16 m) , Roller, Straight Fun Box, Mini Spine ked Mila Milk Box (Special), x, Kin le Tube, Fun Tube, Flat Box, Down Bo Up Box, Up doub ramide) (Py Box, Rainbow Box, ip rsh Sta Box, Straight Box, Kinked x, Bo e ram A-F C-Box,
P
NEW SETU BOARDERCROSS BANKED SLALOM P & NEW KIDS SETU
ES:
NEW STRUCTUR Double Kink Rail Down Rail
K: la pista Obereggen SETUP NIGHTPAR ma, gi, ve, ore 19:00 – 22:00 lungo di ate ser lle Aperto ne ore 8:30 – 16:30 e tutti i giorni dalle Wave Box x Down Box Rainbow Wave Bo STRUCTURES: nk Ba Kicker s Up & Down Box Kid e Down Tub Up & Down Tube Butter Rail
(2A)
rk .com/snowpa en g eg er b .o w RK // ww EGGEN.SNOWPA ER B /O m o .c k www.faceboo
ATLAS
FC
FLITE PRO
JULIET
MILAN
HI MARTINO, TELL OUR READERS WHO YOU ARE. I’m Martino Fumagalli Union CEO-President. I take care of the product development and production, and basically sales a part from Europe. WHAT’S UP IN THE 2015/16 UNION COLLECTION? We have a lot of new stuff in our 2016 collection. Sometimes they are not so visible, but nonetheless very important. After some years of research we eventually managed to create with our supplier a particular blend for plastic, specific for low temperatures and for use and abuse during riding. We have some brand new models like the ST, Contact, Juliet, Milan. Not to forget the comeback of the Atlas, Ultra and T.Rice. HOW, WHY AND WHEN WAS UNION BINDING BORN? Union Binding was born at the end of 2004, we presented our first collection at Ispo in February 2005. But me, GP and our partners we were all already involved in the industry of this product. Simply put, back then in the bindings market there was space for a new brand all based just on the product. Union showed up in a solid way, and little by little we developed and improved our company; also, we put together the best Bindings Team ever.
WHY DID YOU NAME IT AFTER “UNION”? It’s a union of people, ideas, product, team. In the end the binding itself is an union of many components. The best, possibly. We’ve never bought a component already existing on the market. We designed and built everything: from the single screw, until the most important components like plate bases and high-backs. WHEN DID UNION BECOME THE BINDINGS MARKET’S LEADER AS WE KNOW IT NOW? Sincerely I don’t exactly remember that moment in which we as a company became that big, but four years ago things got more serious at all levels, as our product reached that kind of good reputation about quality and performance. Design, distribution and team did the rest. HOW MUCH AND WHERE DO YOU INVEST THE MOST? We constantly invest on the product: 360° R&D. We try to improve and get better every day to have a ever most sophisticated product on the market. About two years ago we invested on the internal production of Forged Carbon details, another exclusive material and very innovative. This year we got back in Italy some of the models from the printing, painting and assembly. Being Italians, design is very important to
ITW: DENIS PICCOLO
CONTACT PRO
FORCE
LEGACY
ROSA
us, we don’t care about products which are only functional: they also need to be good looking. Surely we invested a lot into Team & Marketing sides in the past few years, and much important news will follow in the next future. In the end you only invest if you really believe in what you’re doing, and we do it a lot. WHICH IS THE PREMIUM UNION BINDING FOR THIS 2015/16 SEASON? Surely it’s the Ultra model, because you can find all Union’s top materials: Forged Carbon, Vaporlite Bushing, magnesium buckles and also Duraflex, our plastic exclusive material. YOUR SUGGESTION OF THE BEST BINDING FOR EACH KIND OF RIDER: FREERIDER, JIBBER AND ALL-MOUNTAIN. Contact Pro, Force, Contact, Ultra-Atlas and, if you can still find it, FC. HOW MUCH DO YOUR TEAM’S PROS LIKE TRAVIS RICE, TORSTEIN HORGMO AND GIGI RÜF HELP HELP YOU OUT WITH THEIR FEEDBACKS? All our athletes are involved into product’s development. For some models like Travis Rice’s and Gigi Rüf’s there’s also a consistent participation into the final fine-tuning. We’re lucky to have athletes who, in most cases, tell us their needs in real time so we can
ST
MINI CONTACT
TRILOGY
TRAVIS RICE
improve the product even more. Some ten days ago, we had a special guest here at our HQ: Travis came for a visit, and we talked about a lot of things: current products, future ones and his needs. Now we just have to put all this into reality. You’ll see, it’s going to be grand. HOW TO BE PART OF YOUR PRO-RIDERS TEAM? Our Team is 100% in the hands of George Kleckner, one of our Union partners how lives in Colorado. We have simple rules, nothing complicated. I have to say that George did an incredible job as our team is all made up by just good fellas, who love snowboarding just like everyone of us. IS THERE STILL ANY SPOT LEFT IN SNOWBOARD BINDINGS’ HI-TECH FOR FURTHER DEVELOPMENTS? Actually I think we’re still and always at square one: anything can get better as there are new materials and technologies which can be used in our products. We are always well aware of this and most likely we are the only ones who invest so much time and money into research. I think we’re going to see many other improvements on this product in the next years. We’re already working on many new ideas.
ULTRA
mit this error, Union collection in fact is very tight and in 2015 has been even more reduced. We have three entry-level bindings, three medium-high models and three premium ones; we only have five women’s bindings and one for kids. I always prefer a much compact line-up instead of huge collections to fill up an entire price list. HOW MUCH IS IMPORTANT OUR BINDINGS’ CHOICE FOR OUR SNOWBOARDING GENERAL FEEL? This is one of the main reasons of Union’s success: we’ve always thought that dealers and consumers have been treating this product as just an accessory. We’ve insisted on it much, and after so many years bindings are finally recognised for what they actually are: a product on its own. If you talk with Travis, Gigi, Iguchi and others, all of them will tell you that bindings are so much important for a good feel with your board. All Union bindings have a “bushing” system which guarantees the boards to maintain the original flex the most. This is very important: aluminum bases or bars into a board just kill its flex. This a very long debate, but who uses Union knows what I’m talking about, who doesn’t - he just needs to try them out to understand.
AFTER MANY YEARS BINDINGS ARE FINALLY RECOGNISED FOR WHAT THEY ACTUALLY ARE: A PRODUCT ON ITS OWN.
WHICH IS YOUR FAVOURITE BINDING? I personally use the Ultra, lightweight and powerful. But the binding I love the most is still the Force, because it’s timeless. Each of our bindings has its own story, like Union Custom House. Season after season they get better and better. DON’T YOU THINK THAT A TOO MUCH WIDE LINE-UP CAN MIX UP THE USERS A LITTLE BIT? We’ve always been very careful not to com-
WHY SHOULD A SNOWBOARDER BUY YOUR BINDINGS? Our bindings are “ready to go”: as soon as you mount them on your board, after some personal adjustments they’re ready. Also, we only make this product: we’ve been concentrated only on this since a long time now, and we have no distractions. There must be a reason for none of car manufacturers produce tyres. FUTURE PLANS? Too many. But all of them follow Union’s philosophy.
UNION BINDING COMPANY
PHOTO: DARCY BACHA
KAZU KOKUBO THE FORCE BINDING
THE FORCE BINDING ALSO AVAILABLE IN SATTELITE, GREEN, BLACK AND ORANGE
STRONGER.
INSTAGRAM: @UNIONBINDINGCO UNIONBINDINGCOMPANY.COM
UNION IS DISTRIBUTED IN ITALY BY CALIFONIA SPORTS TEL 011 9277 943 / WWW.CALIFORNIASPORT.INFO
THE FORCE BINDING RIDDEN BY KAZU KOKUBO
UNION BINDING CO. 2015 - 2016
On March 2015, European Dealer AL1 Distribution and Les
from every corner of Europe: Benno Bauer from Austria,
2 Alpes official Dealer Atelier Du Snowboard started talking
Jack Errichiello from Italy, Czech Thomas Löttl and Michal
about an European Team Gathering in the summer snowboarding capital, to ride, shoot, film and
Bisa, Robert Butscher from Germany, Jacob Roberts Englishman in 2Alpes, Isabella Groenestein
socialise. Despite many of them were already
straight from Switzerland and finally Jordy’t
in the team for a while, they never met each
Gilde and Thomas De Laet from Belgium.
other and the week seemed to be a good
Once there locals Ulysse Grosejan and
occasion to tighten up the wolfpack.
Laure “Bulle” Bertiere joined the crew.
What in fact distinguishes a Technine
Julian Nurdin, Atelier du Snowboard
rider from the average sponsored ath-
and DOPS Distribution CEO took care
lete, is the deep sense of belonging to
of the dirty dozen for the whole week
the brand and its heritage, more than
going with them every morning uphill
his skills on steel. Finally the idea took
and helping filmer Kevin Marchal and
shape with the help of SMK camps, that
photographer Oreli B. or bringing around
provided an apartment for the week from
the angry wolves in the long Les Deus Alpes
august 1 to 8. What nobody really expected,
afternoons or making sure they were correctly
was the serious lack of snow on the 3600 high
fed by the Generous dudes at The Spot Restaurant,
Ice field, when statistically mid august flakes were nothing
another partner of the Team Camp. The week was opened
strange.However that didn’t stop the guys, who rushed
for campers too, and despite the lack of snow, many came
ITW: MATTEO ROSSATO PICS: ORELI B.
from all over Europe to join the crew and have some run &
crazy setup created by other resident riders; in the very he-
fun with them. As they stepped into SMK building, a cocktail
art of the week then, Sylvain and his crew set up for us a
party with BBQ was held for them and free Technine Stuff
private sunset session, with the huge park all for the Niners
for everyone was given away, so there was Niners all over
team. The daily routine was like wake up at 7 in the mor-
the places. Up at 3600 mt then thigs got interesting real
ning, quick breakfast and then Jandrì gondola to the top, to
soon: after some warm up to get confidence with the fea-
take advantage of the small time frame when snow was soft
tures of the huge snowpark, the squad started landing ballsy
but not totally done; back in town at 3 pm way after slopes
tricks: we had German Robert Butscher, blunting and sliding
closure, then some walks in town to eat burgers or chilling
with his buttery skate style, or Czechs Thomas Lottl and Mi-
at the lake, a lil skate session at the SMK skatepark, a cold
chal Bisa getting tech with mad in-out combos, Benno Bau-
one at Atelier du snowboard on late afternoon and dinner at
er with his Cali style and Do or Die tricks from mad Italian
The Spot; sometimes nights ended at a fair hour, some times
Jack Errichiello. The only girl in the crew, Isabella Groene-
didn’t ended at all. The week gloriously finished with a wild
stein, wasn’t suffering the “girl in a man’s world syndrome”
party at The Spot, where Dj B Kill graced the crowd with heal-
and did some jaw dropping runs, , while local Ulysse Gro-
thy hip hop till late, and once switched off the sound system,
sejan spun heavy rotations on massive kickers and cleared
someone went to bed and someone else crawled till Avalan-
landing when the most were dying in the very middle of the
che Club for the nightcap. A full week side by side made tho-
flatt: we were all figuring out which kind of wax he put on
se 11 strangers a real crew, riding, chilling and having fun
his sole… Head shaper Sylvain Garabos, built also a pro fea-
together. It’s awesome to see genuine camardarie and sense
ture designed by Jack “Jack Nine” Errichiello, amongst other
of belonging to the brand in hard times like those: One Love!
PICS: DENIS PICCOLO & MARKUS ROHRBACHER TXT: MAX GIONCO MAH HORN: HANDPLANT BY MARKUS ROHRBACHER
“Built For Good Times” is the main concept of everything we produce at Nitro. We want to create products that guarantee people from all around the world to spend some “good times” on the mountains and anywhere else! The next step is to bring this concept even beyond our products and that’s why last season we organised our first Good Times Camp at Kitzsteinhorn, in Austria, in collaboration with Elooa Snowboard Camps. Besides a lot of “regular” campers, more than one hundred Nitro Family’s members came, like designers, distributors, agents and, of course, riders too. This is only because us from Nitro we love snowboarding, riding and, most of all, doing it with some friends! In total, more than 160 snowboarders came from more than ten different countries: Americans, Chinese, Germans, Swiss, Russians, Australians, Italians, Swedes, Norwegians, Finns, French, Slovenians, Czechs, Croatians, all gathered to have some “good times” with the Nitro Family who showed up almost as a whole. Everyone knows snowboarding is such a cool and fun thing – or, at least, the ones who actually do ride, know it! - but there’s something even more special, almost magic, when a massive group of people ride all together in the same park, gathered for the same reason. Every morning we woke up and in all tranquility we went up to ride at the custom park which Kitzsteinhorn’s crew prepared just for us. After the first few days the “differences” of places of origin and ability completely disappeared and in just a short time we all were just a bunch of riders who got friends, simply up there to have fun. Different ages, different countries, different abilities, ma most of all we were snowboarders: this was obviously so cool for the “normal” campers, but also well-experienced riders like Eero Ettala were struck by that: “It’s been such an inspiration riding together with Tommy and Sepp, being on the lifts with one of the campers who just began to ride in a park for his first time and talk with him about new tricks... about how he sees and lives snowboarding”, Eero said about the Camp experience. He was one of the most stoked riders up there: “Seeing how snowboarding is so much loved from so many different people, but who also share the same
passion, has been really nice and inspiring.” In the mini movie Good Times Camp we’re editing you can see all this, amongst tricks of any kind of difficulty, many different faces but many similar smiles! There are not so many companies out there whose founders ride in park with their sons, their company’s riders and co-workers together with normal campers... and then they stop by to have a chat and to share snowboarding beauty. Every day on schedule there was a common breakfast, so everyone motivated everyone else about the riding day that was about to get started, some park riding with random breaks at the bbq station placed right halfway through the park, filming and photo sessions. After snowboarding, of course there were many other activities like football or skating on the mini-ramp, but most of all we will all remember the tennis table matches. It came out that Eero Ettala and Elias Elhardt are true pros in this discipline as well! In the end the Good Times Camp is also this: a mix of things and persons that you rarely see anywhere else, a private and easy party open to any snowboarders. On Friday night there had been organised a special party at the old Kaprun’s castle: we rent the whole castle! There were two bars and a stage where Marc Swoboda played with his band, and even Nitro’s founder Tommy Delago played the drums (he’s a super drummer) and we all had some great fun until late night... an entire week’s closing party amongst friends. 160 happy snowboarders who just wanted to have fun in an old castle: the funny anecdotes are many, and also many of them will be confidential forever... In the end, the camp was so good that we have already confirmed the next edition – so if just reading these lines made you want to participate, you’ll get your chance! We are also thinking of organising even some event and smaller camps somewhere else too... so stay tuned on our social media and our website www.nitrousa.com for more news to come. Just remember snowboarding was created to have fun: it was born from the fun of sliding on a wooden stick down the mountains, to have a good laugh with friends after a fall in powder, to get yourself stoked even with little things and for all the rest which makes us love so much our sport!
THERE’S SOMETHING MAGIC WHEN A MASSIVE GROUP OF PEOPLE RIDE ALL TOGETHER.
BASTI RITTIG: STALEFISH BY MARKUS ROHRBACHER
ALBERTO MAFFEI: HANDPLANT BY DENIS PICCOLO
EERO ETTALA: FS ROCK BY DENIS PICCOLO
MARC SWOBODA: BS NOSEBONE BY MARKUS ROHRBACHER
BEFORE THE REAL THING If want to stomp a trick in street, more than only owning the necessary physical abilities, it’s most important to find the right and ideal spot and to set it up the best you can do. If you are new to building stuff in street, take a look at all those magazines and online. APPROACH To understand transition and speed, just try some speed checks and if you do want to jump over the last part of the rail, I’d suggest you to do it first in frontside boardslide or, and it’s even more simple, in 50-50. INRUN AND TAKEOFF When you’re ready for it, drop with your board flat and towards the rail. On the kicker put a bit of weight on your toe edge and pop an ollie rotating both your shoulders and legs in backside, leaning your board over the rail around your rear bindings’ height. MANEUVER If you hit the rail in the right way, hold on to your legs position while your shoulders go on rotating. Once you’re at the kink section, pop an ollie to get off the rail and get your legs together as they follow your shoulders’ rotation. LANDING This is the moment of truth. If you pick the right speed, takeoff and position on the rail, you should find yourself mid-air looking towards the landing. This is the moment in which you block your shoulders’ rotation and let your legs complete the 270° rotation from the rail. Bend your legs while landing to avoid your knees tough impacts.
BY MATT GEORGES IN FINLAND
RIDE RODEO | RIDE KINK | VANS HI-STANDARD
BY MATT GEORGES IN CERVINIA
BEFORE THE REAL THING No doubt the delicate steps of building a kicker in powder are the inrun, the takeoff and the landing. When you build a jump and prepare its inrun, it’s much important to avoid bumps because it could compromise or make the takeoff more difficult. Do some speed checks then, to get the right speed. APPROACH On the inrun you don’t have the same space as you do on a park’s jump, so your line should be the most linear as you can. You are on the kicker with your board well flat, bend your legs and just before taking off bring your weight on your heels. TAKEOFF The takeoff is a very delicate phase of the whole thing, because you can’t counter-turn too much – as you usually do in the park. In this case, spinning comes a bit more from the legs and shoulders rotation. At the end of the transition stretch out your legs to pop an ollie and with your shoulders give the necessary angular impulse. MANEUVER Reach down for your legs and with your left hand grab your board in between the bindings on the toe edge and if you feel you’re in total control of your trick, collect some extra-style points stretching out your front leg with a nosebone. Your rear arm is essential to balance yourself during the aerial phase. Hold on to the grab as long as you can to be even more stylish. LANDING When you find yourself more or less 90° away to the end of the trick, leave the grab, block the rotation with your shoulders and let your legs finish the 720°. When you land you, balance yourself on the tail of the board, otherwise the nose ends up into the snow and your clip will go straight right into the bails’ section of your videopart. REMEMBER Don’t exaggerate with the counter-turn and the push on the edge when you take off from a kicker in powder, if you don’t want to re-build the jump from square one all the time.
UNION ATLAS | RIDE SUPERNATANT | DC JUDGE
PICS: DENIS PICCOLO TXT: ACHILLE MAURI & ANDREA BERGAMASCHI
ANDREA BERGAMASCHI: BACKFLIP
Flashback: - Montenegro?! Are you sure, Ste? - Sure, man, it’s the shit for powder, it snows a lot and nobody goes there! - And which crew? - Lollo, Manuel, Buzzo, Andre, Denis and Massi! - Fear and loathing... with such a crew, I definitely join you guys! Flash Forward: 6.30 in the morning, Malpensa international airport in Milan. People staring at all our gear, and saying: “look at those pro riders who are flying to Alaska!” Or: “I wonder which kind of amazing lines in powder they’ll have in Canada!” Instead: Milan-Belgrade, and then Belgrade-Podgorica. Easy trip, except for Lollo who went a bit crazy about our second flight – not enough modern, for his standards. We eventually landed safe and sound anyhow, as we were in the capital of Montenegro: Podgorica. Andrea Bergamaschi’s friends of friends were waiting for us as they kindly lent us a van we could drive around. With these friends have a climbing gym in Italy and organise trips to Montenegro, and they know locals who have some chalets – our accommodation. Snow-
boarding was immediately moved to the background, after we all realised which kind of place we ended up to. War is over now, not so many years ago though. Houses, shops, fields and people are still marked with invisible and much visible scars forever, from the destruction that during all those years hit this part of Europe – not that far away from Italy. We visited Podgorica with our local friend. It’s a town with many contrasts: rich areas, with bling-bling cars and women wearing expensive furs all mixed up with ghettos and half-ruined buildings, falling apart since war times. It looks like a city which is slowly getting itself together, from a past which went hard on its inhabitants and its places, but it’s steadily reassessing. We carried on with our trip in silence, each of us with his own eyes and his own deep thoughts on what we had just witnessed. In just a couple of hours we arrived in the cold Kolesin, at the base of the mountains. Four beautiful wooden chalets with all the comforts welcomed us warm and cosy. Lucky us! So far, so good. Even if it
LORENZO BARBIERI: MILLER FLIP
SNOWBOARDING IMMEDIATELY MOVED TO THE BACKGROUND, AFTER WE REALISED WHICH KIND OF PLACE WE ENDED IN.
MANUEL PIETROPOLI: CRIPPLER FLIP
didn’t look like there was tons of snow anywhere around, but the locals told us to take it easy because in just a few days the situation would have turned around, getting worse – or better: they were sure it was going to snow, a lot. We spent our first shred day in the resort of Kolesin, which is tiny and has only four chairlifts. We took some laps around, just to check it all out, searching for some good spots for cliffs and where to build a couple of kickers, although basically it was impossible because of the lack of snow. The following days we tried to arrange ourselves with what we had, hitting street spots and also having a look around to be rapid and efficient for when it would snow. The second day we tried to make a check around with a snowcat, into the super wild territory where basically nobody goes. It took us one hour to get to the top with this super old snowcat, which at the very beginning of the trip managed to cut a turn and demolish our boards. Just a few minutes and we already were 1-0 down to Montenegro. After one hour we got to the top risking our lives several times – the road was tiny and super tight, only 2 meters and a half wide. One of the two snowcat’s caterpillars were completely out facing the cliff to one side. Risk is
their own thing in Montenegro: nobody has ever heard of Arva, to start off with. There were very few snowboarders, and those we saw riding around looked like they were coming straight out of the 80s. With the snowcat we eventually reached a super wild territory and apparently we were the first ones trying to do some stuff in powder. I tried to take a walk around to find some lines. I would love to talk about fresh snow, but there was actually just a thick crust. The others went check some other spots, small ones since the snow was what it was. All in all that spot was nothing bad, but we had to wait another couple of days. There were no other chances. Our group was anyway solid, despite the bad conditions of the terrain and the fact that most of us were powder animals more than street shredders. It already was halfway through our trip and nothing was done yet. But, eventually, there was a day in which the weather forecast looked down on us and said: 65cm of fresh snow for the next few days. One day later, even double as much. There we go, we all thought, our time has come. Flash forward:MAN, look, it snows! Booooooom! Let’s hope it keeps on snowing for the whole night.Already 50cm and went on and on and on... we woke up and
APPARENTLY WE WERE THE FIRST ONES TRYING TO DO SOME STUFF IN POWDER.
MANUEL PIETROPOLI: 50/50 TO 360° MELON
it was just amazing: the whole landscape had already changed into something beautifully different. Shovel, Arva, probe, batteries and gear check, and we were off to the tiny resort we visited the first day and that potentially with the fresh new snow could come up with something really good. There was no chance to go all the way up with the snowcat, so the resort was our only possibility on that day to bring home - at last! - some footage. Lollo, Buzzo and Manuel went check some spots. Me, Denis and Massi we took another direction. In those cases, the avalanche risk is very high as the new layer of snow isn’t stuck together with the old one yet, because of the temperature difference. We split up in two groups, knowing we had to avoid slopes too steep or wide open spaces. The woods were the most clever call. We began to get some runs down on the only chairlift open, as there was too much fallen snow already. At some point we even got stuck on the lift, because of an electric blackout (only later we found out it concerned our whole region). With a power unit they eventually managed to get us to the top, so from there we looked for some spot in fresh deep snow. We rode down a bit and we found this pillow in the middle of the woods. While I was walking
upwards in a canal, suddenly a huge avalanche from above us in just a few seconds hit me. I found myself into it and I ended up more than ten meters below. Silence. I was covered with all the fresh snow of the avalanche, completely buried I didn’t even know how much deep. I was alive, the only positive thing. I tried to get calm. I tried to push as hard as I could to get out from down there, but I couldn’t move. I heard something was moving from above. I pushed hard and I eventually managed to get one hand out of the snow. Denis then did the rest. I had a hard time, making a narrow escape. We left the resort a bit shaken still for what had just happened. In the middle of May then, Andre received a call from one of our local Montenegro friend who told him they eventually found my board, which had been under the snow of that avalanche for more than two months. They found it after everything melted. Just to give you an idea of how much snow there was and how deep it was. We went drink something trying to forget that scary episode. When we got back home, the icing on the cake of that crazy day was waiting for us: the blackout not only hit the resort, but our entire town and almost the whole Montenegro.
SUDDENLY A HUGE AVALANCHE FROM ABOVE US IN JUST A FEW SECONDS HIT ME.
ACHILLE MAURI: HAND DRAG
That meant for us to stay without electricity for two days: no gas, no fire, no hot water, no light, no wifi, nothing. Situation began to be a little tense. We only had the light and the warmth from the fireplace. We were completely stuck over there. Also because Kolesin has only one vehicle to clean up the roads, and they just couldn’t keep up with the falling snow. Since they couldn’t clean the streets, unluckily we didn’t have the chance anymore to get up to that first super cool terrain we checked on our first day out with the snowcat. But we didn’t give up. So we began to hit some spots around our place, as we were waiting for the bad weather to end. Two difficult days went by: no wifi and no other modern technologies we are all used to, so we had to learn how to spend some time alone and in silence, to cook with the fireplace, to conserve what we had bought and to get to know each other with some long talking around the fireplace. The essence of a trip is also this, not the super tricks. We also went to Kolesin’s restaurant, another of those very interesting and peculiar experiences. To-
othless waiters, the loudest disco kind-of-80s music ever, so loud that we hardly managed to talk to each other, people next to us who ate, danced and made a mess. That typical colour from the Balkans. And, finally, there was time also for sun and bluebirds. So everyone did his best enjoying the mountains and the terrain. But we soon had to leave, and we didn’t have the chance to film a lot even. Andre wanted to stay one more week, with Lollo, Buzzo and Massi. Me, Denis and Manuel we had to go back home. From then on, there were the best conditions ever and the fun part began but, - unlucky us! - we couldn’t appreciate it. Cliffs, powder, spines and all that natural features Andre told me about. It’s been a good snowboard trip anyway, rich of emotions. I have to thank Stefano Bergamaschi of Gnarcolate, who helped us out with organising the whole thing, if only there were more situations like this one, snowboarding world would be a lot cooler. A big thank you also to Andrea Marangoni of the Vert Climb gym from Gessate, for hooking us up with our very helpful friends from Montenegro.
SLASH: LORENZO BUZZON
WE HAD TO LEARN HOW TO STAND ALONE OR TO GET TO KNOW EACH OTHER WITH SOME LONG TALKING AROUND THE FIREPLACE.
ANDREA BERGAMASCHI: FUNKY ARGOGUN BOOTS: VANS V66 BINDINGS: UNION FLITE PRO LORENZO BARBIERI: CAPITA MERCURY BOOTS: DC LYNX BINDINGS: UNION T-RICE GOGGLES: SPY BRAVO LORENZO BUZZONI: DC MEDIA BLITZ BOOTS: DC LYNX BINDINGS: UNION ATLAS GOGGLES: SPY RAIDER MANUEL PIETROPOLI: DC MEDIA MEGA BOOTS: DC JUDGE BINDINGS: UNION CONTACT GOGGLES: SPY MARSHALL
ITW: DENIS PICCOLO PICS: DENIS PICCOLO, ROBERTO NANGERONI & ALEXANDER KLERUD
SIMON GRUBER: CAB 540° MUTE BY DENIS PICCOLO IN PASSO ROLLE, ITALY
OIVIND FYKSE: BS OLLIE BY ALEXANDER KLERUD IN NORWAY
OIVIND FYKSE: METHOD TO TRANNY FINDER BY ALEXANDER KLERUD IN NORWAY
WHEN AND WHY DID YOU COME UP WITH THE IDEA OF NAMING YOUR VIDEO “BROKEN CIRCUIT”? I called it Broken Circuit because in my opinion snowboarding world is like a broken electric circuit, not totally broken yet. Broken Circuit’s message is this: despite all the difficulties, we have to hold on and keep snowboarding’s spirit alive. The idea came to me on a Sunday during last year’s December when I took my old computer to the garbage dump: there I saw a container full of electric circuits. From there the idea of grabbing old circuits to create the video’s graphics and name it like that. IT’S GETTING MORE AND MORE DIFFICULT TO PRODUCE SNOWBOARDING VIDEOS COMPARED TO WHAT IT USED TO BE BACK IN THE DAYS. BUDGETS AND MONEY IS KING, AND THE VIDEO PRODUCTIONS AND THE RIDERS AS WELL ARE ALL IN DEEP CRISIS. WHAT ARE THE MAIN ISSUES? It wouldn’t be true if I say there are no problems at all, and both the companies and their riders are doing really well. But at the same time, I think that, just like all things, if you really believe in something you find both money and motivation from the companies and the riders. YOU HAVE A CREW MADE OF VARIOUS ITALIAN AND EUROPEAN RIDERS, FROM FREERIDERS TO STREET RIDERS: IS IT A CHOICE FORCED BY SPONSORS OR IS IT JUST YOUR EVOLUTION PATH YOU’RE GOING THROUGH? Since our very first full movie Shadows by DVP, my idea was to represent snowboarding in all its aspects, from backcountry to street, even with some park shots too. It’s quite obvious that the riders take the first call. Each of them has his own style and he belongs to a certain favourite terrain, where he can show all his talent. This year I had the chance of filming with riders like Simon and Bridgman, who both like
powder and park, but also Oivind, Jess and the other European riders who are some real street machines. Sure, it’s not easy to combine this all together, but I also think that there’s been a clear improvement from Octopus most of all thanks to everybody’s commitment to this project: both filmers and riders. TALK ME THROUGH EACH RIDER OF YOUR CREW, HOW HIS SEASON HAS BEEN. Starting from Simon Gruber, since he got the video’s opening part, I’d say that despite all the weather difficulties and the snow conditions which weren’t that ideal to film, it could not have been better. Simon basically filmed his video part in powder in just three times. I can’t imagine what we could have achieved if we had had chance of filming the whole season. Jesse Augustinus is a trick machine, although the sponsors didn’t totally back us up since he had to shoot two full parts with two different projects, so we only had the chance of going together on two trips. Nevertheless, I think he has a peculiar style and nowadays he’s one of the new street riders who surely will draw much attention on himself in the future. Max Vieider, also AKA Max “Punk”, I’d say in those rare chances of filming together he showed to be a true punk… as he’s been trying to film different tricks in spots a bit unusual. WHICH RIDER OF YOUR VIDEO YOU LIKED THE MOST AND WHY? Oivind is the one who struck me most. It’s the first year we’ve had the chance of shooting for the whole season together, and surely he deserved Broken Circuit’s ender part. He has an unique style and he has a whole crazy set of different tricks under his belt. The shot I loved the most is his line all in switch filmed at the double wood set in Lillehammer, apart from the ender shot. Epic!
SIMON GRUBER: FS 720° MELON BY DENIS PICCOLO IN PASSO ROLLE, ITALY
WHICH DIRECTION AND WHAT EVOLUTION FOR SNOWBOARDING? I remember 7, 8 years ago when I was a shaper in Bardonecchia, I used to spend my nights playing at Amped at home. In recent times snowboarding has already reached and possibly overtaken those video games levels. Riders now stomp triple or quad corks as if it were nothing, crazy street spots and riders who go down powder lines against the laws of gravity. PRINTED MAGS, VIDEOS, INTERNET, SOCIAL MEDIA, EVENTS AND SO ON. COMPARED TO WHAT IT USED TO BE A FEW YEARS AGO, SNOWBOARDING HAS MORE OPPORTUNITIES TO BE COMMUNICATED AROUND, YET IT HAS LOST SOME OF ITS APPEAL AMONGST A GREAT, MORE GENERAL AUDIENCE. WHY? I think snowboarding actually hasn’t lost its appeal, on the contrary there’s only a kind of more natural selection amongst the users interested into. I believe that skateboarding, surfing and other sports like snowboarding won’t ever be main stream sports, most of all in Italy. All that we media can do is to give the right look it deserves. WHO’S THE IDEAL RIDER FOR A FILMER? Haha! You’d better ask a rider who the ideal filmer is. Each of us has his own brain, warts and all, obviously it’s not easy to mix it all up. It might look like it’s easy and fun, but each trip and at each shooting there’s always some stress into. It’s stressful thinking of ending up with no shots, after you already spent 1’500€ for that trip. So I think the perfect rider ideally is that one who manages to get 10 shots on a daily basis, while the ideal filmer is the one who doesn’t mess up on any of these shots, also the one who can make them look like better and cooler.
TELL ME THE TEN BASIC RULES TO SHOOT WITH YOU! Like the Ten Commandments? Haha! I don’t think I should dictate any rules and I don’t think there are any in snowboarding either. Yet I believe a rider who wants to film with me must have one quality - Strive. He must be willing and able to work his ass off, he has to crave to film. ALL THE WEB IS BOMBED BY LOW-QUALITY VIDEOS ON A DAILY BASIS. HOW DO YOU DEFEND YOUR OWN PROJECT AND YOUR WORK FROM THIS DIGITAL ASSAULT? I think the only way to emerge from all this is to go for high quality’s projects and videos. Both on the filming and editing parts, as well as for the riding. WHICH HISTORIC SNOWBOARDING VIDEOS HAVE INSPIRED YOUR WORKS? I’d say there are different and several video production which inspired me throughout all these years and inevitably I’ve been influenced by. Like Robotfood ,People and Videograss. WHICH ARE THE EUROPEAN VIDEOS YOU RESPECT THE MOST? I think Postland Theory is the video production which, like DVP, has had the most positive feedback in the past three years. Both the productions grew up the same way, from being small crews they’ve transformed into two of the biggest video productions in Europe. Surely the video are “made” by the riders, but the main difference is made by the ones who are behind the scenes, the ones who, thanks to new ideas, manage to realise different videos. DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA OF THE CREW YOU WILL FILM WITH NEXT YEAR? Yes I do already have a project, since it’s already November now.
SIMON GRUBER: METHOD BY DENIS PICCOLO IN PASSO ROLLE, ITALY
NICOLÃ’ PEZZATO: MILLER FLIP BY ROBERTO NANGERONI IN MADESIMO, ITALY
NICOLÒ PEZZATO: FS 360° NOSEBONE BY ROBERTO NANGERONI IN MADESIMO, ITALY
My idea is to have two different videos, one set in powder and the other in street. Anyway, I don’t want to disclose it all right now, surely the main characters will be the riders who have been the most active in the past two years plus some other new faces which is always a positive thing to add. WHICH ARE THE TRIPS YOU’RE GOING TO PLAN? My plan is to have our own van tour of 2/3 weeks in Europe, searching for the best conditions to film in backcountry, and other 3/4 trips in between North and Eastern Europe for street spots. BEFORE FALLING ASLEEP WHAT DO YOU DREAM OF DREAMING? It might look like strange to you, but I’d like to have a family and support it with this job.
IF YOU REALLY BELIEVE IN SOMETHING YOU WILL FIND BOTH MONEY AND THE MOTIVATION FROM THE COMPANIES AND THE RIDERS.
JESSE AUGUSTINUS: FS BLUNT PRETZEL BY ROBERTO NANGERONI IN MADESIMO, ITALY
PICS: BLOTTO, SCOTT SERFAS, FRODE SANDBECH
PORTRAIT: DENIS PICCOLO
ITW: GIACOMO MARGUTTI
10 medals at the X Games (5 gold plus 5 silver), a bronze medal at
Dawg, like his part in Follow Me Around I went crazy for it. Absolu-
Sochi 2014 Olympic Games (with a broken rib), first man on the
tely awesome. I liked the powder sections the most, I didn’t care a
earth to throw down a backside triple cork 1440 in contest, almost
lot of street rails or riders who just hit rails, I’ve never understood it,
500’000 followers on Instagram (Shaun White has only 380k...
it’s a poor way to intend snowboarding. But Eero has always been
oops!), a beautiful girlfriend who is a pro surfer, his own reality
one of the best all-around snowboarders out there. I idolized so
show with his brother Craig on MTV Canada, now his very first
many riders. When I participated into the Red Bull Supernatural I
own movie (“In Motion”) all about himself and his friends. And on
was blown away to see the way Nicholas Mueller and Jake Blauvelt
December 9th he turns 22 years old. Despite all this, Mark McMor-
rode in powder. They are just amazing riders, with their own style,
ris is a normal boy still with his feet on the ground, when he’s not
so much recognizable. I had few experience in powder and a lot
strapped in to a board flying high.
of guys helped me out. I understood that jumping in powder is so much different than in contest.”
I find him lying down on a sofa of an elegant 4-star hotel in Milan. Around us, Japanese, Russian, Italian business men try to under-
WHO’S THE MOST UNDERRATED RIDER IN THE WORLD? “Mikkel
stand each other in a language that should be English, while others
Bang, for sure. He rides awesome, he has an amazing style
hurry up to reach their event’s congress room. Mark is still a bit
and he makes everything he does look like nothing and sim-
jet-lagged and despite being so young, he has already seen it all to
ple, especially when he jumps in powder. I admired him sin-
play a tactiful diplomatic as he says what he thinks and he thinks
ce he was a kid, when the best Burton rookies were him, Luke
what he says. And what he says, he throws it at you:
Mitrani and Freddie Austbo. I watched those Burton videos with them three and I was thinking that one day it would have
“Mine is a job. It’s sometimes tough. But it’s the most beautiful job
been good to ride like that. Despite all his style, Mikkel doesn’t
on earth. It’s funny, I’m here because of my movie, and since it’s
get that much reward internationally, that he would deser-
my movie I can’t say ‘Oh, I’m taking it easy tonight, just one beer’:
ve. There are so many other riders who push progression less
they all came to celebrate my movie in Vancouver, Toronto, Mon-
than him, but they are more emphasized and I don’t get why.”
treal, New York, Park City, Newport Beach, Denver, and then I came over here. It’s been a fun month. It’s fun also because this trip is the longest one I’m stationary for so long. I’m in Europe for two and a half weeks, it’s pretty nice since I don’t have to get on the plane. I just drove here in Milan, drove back to Innsbruck, go shred for another ten days. It’s sick.” Oh yes, you read it right. He shows
ALL THE KIDS ARE TRYING THESE TRICKS NOW LIKE TRAMPOLINE AERIALISTS. IT’S FUCKED. IT SUCKS.
up in Milan, he spends the whole day doing interviews, printed
WHY DID YOU DERANGE FROM YOUR USUAL CONTEST SCENE? “Before Sochi 2014, every week for months I had been taking part to a contest. Everywhere in the world. I just didn’t stop traveling and competing for months. Big airs, slopestyles here and there, X Games, Air&Style, European and US Open... anything. I went there, I competed, I went on the podium when it went well, I took another flight, I landed, hotel, contest, podium, flight, hotel, contest and so on and on. On one
magazines, radio, he catches up with media and fans, goes to the
side it was really cool because I could get people stoked and myself
party, enjoys it, goes back to Innsbruck, goes up riding in Stubai
too when the contest went well and I really had fun. But there was
awesome park the very next day. He sincerely loves snowboarding.
a lot of pressure as well to live up to the expectations of everyo-
Really.
ne. And everything came together at the Olympics, coming there with a broken rib, the whole contest and the bronze medal with all
WHEN DID IT ALL START? “It all started with my brother Craig in
that fuss. So much stressful. I wanted to change things for a sea-
our place’s backyard. We’re from Regina, Saskatchewan province,
son, so I took the decision of not getting into any contests trying
and we got no mountains at all there, it’s all flat. One day we were
to film in powder, with a bunch of friends I chose. That’s why “In
brought up to the mountains and we tried snowboarding and it
Motion”. But I soon found out that it was sometimes stressful too,
was love at first sight. So we came up with riding some stuff in the
there’s a lot of pressure even while shooting a movie because so-
backyard, whatever we could hit and whenever. Basically all the
metimes things are not going your way: bad weather, shitty snow
time we didn’t spend at school, we were riding. Sometimes our pa-
conditions, walking a lot, hiking, jumps which don’t work out...
rents took us to the next resort, 40 minutes away from our place, it
everything is way more difficult in backcountry with natural con-
was nothing but a super small hill, they didn’t even have a chairlift,
ditions, of course. But I’m super stoked with how this video came
but it was enough for us. There were just a couple of boxes, still we
out, I had so much fun with all my friends and this season I’d like
had fun anyway.”
to do both: contests and filming in powder.”
WHO WERE YOUR IDOLS BACK THEN? “When I was a kid my hero
I HAVEN’T BEEN UP TO STUBAI THESE DAYS BUT WHAT LOOKS LIKE
was JP Walker. I watched and re-watched a thousand times all his
FROM DOWN HERE OR, BETTER AND ACTUALLY, FROM WHAT THE
videos, I loved his part in Technical Difficulties. Tons of times I wa-
SOCIAL MEDIA TELL US IS THAT TRIPLE CORKS ARE THE ORDINARY
tched it. I just wanted to be like him, ride like him, become like him.
AND MARCUS KLEVELAND STOMPED HIS FIRST QUAD 1800. DO
Then I liked so much how Eero Ettala rode in the videos of Mack
YOU HAVE YOUR OWN IDEA OF WHAT’S GOING ON RIGHT NOW IN
FS 360° NOSEBONE BY SCOTT SERFAS
BY SCOTT SERFAS
MICHELCHUCK TUCK KNEE BY FRODE SANDBECH
THE SNOWBOARDING PARK SCENE? PERSONALLY, IT JUST LOOKS
the Air&Style has changed into, and it’s so much better. So people
LIKES LOTS OF SPINNING. “It sucks that they had to do that quad
aren’t doing triple corks in the first rounds, ‘cause you need to do
cork. It really sucks. But I would never do it training. It’s not gonna
two different tricks. I think it’s really good that they chose that in-
be something I want to do. But let’s say it’s the Olympic final and
stead of best run out of three. Because this way we don’t see just
you have to do a quad cork to win, and I can do it first try, it’s a stu-
triple corks all the time. Like we don’t see Chinese kids coming out
pid extra flip. You just gotta chuck a little harder, but it’s not gonna
from nowhere, like this. That kid, Yewei Zhang, the pipe rider, he
be fun. Not at all. I think it’s super wack, but... whatever. It’s gonna
started snowboarding five years ago and now he was the first one
be fun for the spectators probably, but not for me. You see when
to stomp a triple, and he even won at Park City, the GP event. He
these kids are trying these tricks... you know how dangerous that
went huge! If you see him ride the pipe transition he’s the only one
is? If you clip your toe edge that fast you’ll die, you smash your face
really going for it, it’s crazy.”
into the landing. It’s so sketchy. Marcus kind of did it in a safe way, ‘cause it wasn’t really cork, to the side... but hey, so much respect,
WHEN DID YOU REALISE YOUR LIFE WAS CHANGING OR ALREA-
because he did the best one that has been yet. Max Parrot’s was just
DY CHANGED FOREVER? WAS IT A GRADUAL PROCESS, OR ALL AT
backflipping. It’s crazy, dude, so many triple corks up there! Every
ONCE? “I won a FIS slopestyle in Calgary in 2010 and in 2010/11,
third run there’s someone who’s doing a triple, even kids you’ve
the winter after Vancouver, I got a spot in Dew Tour slopesty-
never even heard of or seen, and then you see their Instagram and
le, and I was already trying to get known like I had just signed
there’s bunch a trampoline videos. All the kids are trying these tri-
with Burton and Red Bull, and it was happening but still I didn’t
cks now are trampoline aerialists. It’s fucked. It sucks. Even the Ca-
get any invitations to do contests. I still had to do pre-qualifica-
nadian team, all those young kids, when
tions, qualifications, semifinals, made it
we were in Vancouver for the premiere
to the final and then I got second next
I asked them to come down earlier to go
to Torstein and that gave me the invite
skating, they answered me that they had
to the Xgames and then I got second at
to go to the trampolines. Are you fucking
Xgames and then they told me “you can
kidding me? Why are they becoming like
come for the Air&Style, the Rookie Con-
that now? The national team sees all this
test”. And I said “I’m not coming so.” And
Olympic stuff on the TV and they’re like
then, 10 minutes later, I got an email in
“yeah, we need to make like what Seb To-
which they said “OK, you are in the real
ots or McMorris are doing and train on
thing.” So I won the Air&Style. That year
the trampoline everyday”. I am a snow-
it was all like boom, boom, boom! All tho-
boarder, I can go from edge to edge, why
se things happening at once, in just one
these kids can’t even do that? Do you see
season. The next year, 2012, it’s when
how they ride a jump? They can’t just go
I did the triple cork and then I won the
from edge to edge on transitions, they
double gold at Xgames, and that’s when
go flat base. I’ve never seen somebody
I knew my life was changing forever.
snowboarding the way Max Parrot jumps,
And that’s when the Olympics got slo-
who goes sideways from a jump with
pestyle in their programme, and I wan-
both his arms behind himself. It’s actual-
ted to go there and win. And then it was
ly aerials. Like you are actually taking off,
the time when the media said I was up
sideways. It’s so bad, so uncool to watch
against Shaun, me and him all the time.
that. I’m sorry I’m talking so much shit
And then I was able to perform that in
right now, but... I don’t even wanna talk
that win at the Xgames. Like this year, in
about this anymore.”
2015, it was super random, I didn’t think I could win the Xgames again, but I did
ARE YOU GOING TO PARTICIPATE TO THE NEXT OLYMPICS, AS THEY
it. You never expect it, it’s so cool when it happens.”
ADDED BIG AIR TO THE OFFICIAL PROGRAM? “As up today, I wanna go to the Olympics and do well in both big air and slopestyle
HAVE YOU BROUGHT ANYTHING POSITIVE BACK FROM SOCHI
events. But there’s a lot of water to go under the bridge. The dif-
2014, AFTER GETTING THERE WITH ALL THAT STRESSFUL SITUA-
ference between 2012 – two years before Sochi 2014 - and 2016
TION OF LIVING UP THE EXPECTATIONS OF EVERYONE, BEING THE
is pretty big, as we’re two years away from Korea 2018. It’s crazy
FAVOURITE BUT WITH A BROKEN RIB AND ENDING UP WITH THE
what’s happening, the resources they’ve been putting in slopestyle
BRONZE? “So many people told me ‘you rode good, you should
is just crazy. There are hundreds of national team kids up in Stubai,
have won’ and stuff. And I was like, that’s so nice for you to say,
on the small line beside the big one kids doing triple underflips like
thank you. But the truth is that it could have been shittier if I got
nothing... Russian kids I’ve never seen, they don’t even know how
fourth. That’s all I can think about. I did it with a broken rib and
to ride a jump but they can do triple corks. But I’ve seen it for years,
this is so cool, how can I be bummed out on anything? During
kids that they can do all these double corks and then when it comes
this small Olympic bubble any people know what’s up and then
time when they actually have to put a slopestyle run together... but
our event was the first one of the entire Olympic Games. So I flew
that’s the weird thing about big air. You don’t have to do anything
back to Canada as soon as we were over with it. And it was so wild.
but ride down and do a triple. But the cool thing is that the Olym-
In the streets of Toronto everyone recognized me, I couldn’t go
pic big air format is two runs out of three count, and you have to
anywhere. It was crazy. I was at the Toronto Raptors game, me and
spin different ways and like do two different tricks. And that’s what
Coco were sitting on the court and at this point it was so fresh, so
BS AIR BY FRODE SANDBECH
BS ALLEY-OOP INDY BY FRODE SANDBECH
many people were watching the Olympics. The Olympics in Canada
Nobody is getting mad at you. Even if you suck at snowboarding no-
is like... god. Winter sports in Canada is everything. When we went
body is going to get mad at you. They’re crazy. When I’m in Hawaii,
to this basketball game, they were pushing fans off the court becau-
you know shit that goes on in the water? It’s crazy, I’m scared for
se the basketball players couldn’t warm up because they were swar-
people’s lives haha! It’s gnarly, like holding people under the water
ming around us two. I was like ‘How do all these people even know
and stuff. But I’ve only seen this in a couple of occasions. I don’t get
me? These are not snowboard punk,’ and that’s when I was all like
in fight, I’m like a lover haha.”
‘holy shit!’. The reach that the Olympics have is beyond anything on earth. It sucks but it’s true. I say everybody knows about Xgames, but
THERE ARE MANY POSITIVE THINGS IN SNOWBOARDING, WHI-
everybody’s granma knows about the Olympics. It doesn’t matter
CH ARE THE CONS? “The only cons are the impacts on your body
about who you are, when the Olympics comes around every four
and I wish I don’t have to deal with that, I wish there wasn’t so
years, you see it, you watch it, you have to hear it, it’s everywhere.
many injuries. I’ve been super thankful for that, like you see
Sochi 2014 brought me a lot of positive, with a lot of negative went
some guys deal with it and it sucks, really. I think park builders
on before and during, that I don’t have any hard feelings because
should be so much better. I mean, we progress so fast but they
it could have been somebody different than Sage up there. It could
don’t progress as fast, not at all. Build safe jumps! You all know
have been like... you know. And Sage is such a good representation
what a safe jump is: take a look at the Gap Session ten years
of our sport, he is fun, he talks positive stuff, there’s so many worse
ago. They built safe jumps back then, just build every jump like
people to take away that win from Staale and then I would have been
that! So if you land off, if you land to the side, you’re not out for
so mad about! I love Sage and he rode so fucking awesome, still the
a couple of months. You go back up. That’s something that is
judges had their heads up their ass. It’s crazy, they had Phoebe Mills
frustrating to me. There are good park builders that are getting
who’s a FIS judge who’s like a trampoline coach. They didn’t have the
better, Charles Beckinsale who builds in Perisher and Whistler
judges that they would have at the Xgames. Or any big contest. They
is so good at building safe jumps that actually work. But there
had these random people. They don’t know anything about hard tri-
are so many... who aren’t! Come on, man, just build a jump that
cks versus easy tricks or rail tricks. It is what it is. I don’t even wanna
is safe, but with the same airtime! I sometimes get sad in the
watch it again because that gets
off season. Because it’s tough
me so frustrated. Whatever.”
for me when I’m in Australia
WHAT’S THE SURFING SCENE COMPARED TO THE SNOWBOARDING ONE YOU’RE MORE ACCUSTOMED TO? “It’s definitely different, a little bit more competitive. Well, a lot more. They don’t like each other, it’s not like they can be friends after. A lot of them can’t. They
EVERYBODY KNOWS ABOUT X-GAMES, BUT EVERYBODY’S GRANMA KNOWS ABOUT OLYMPICS.
wanna kill each other! OK, not
snowboarding for a month and I go home for two months and so many people ask me ‘what are you doing?’ and I’m snowboarder but I’m not snowboarding. It is also cool too, because at the same time it’s nice we have an off season: snowboarding takes a lot on your body and you need breaks sometimes. But the fucked
really kill haha, but they wanna
up part is all these young
beat each other so bad. There’s a lot of trash talking in the water so-
kids go straight from Australia to Saas Fee, to Stubai to Co-
metimes, because it’s not like everybody has a fair thing of having
lorado... they never stop. They just don’t stop. It’s crazy.”
two runs. I can understand, it’s a one-on-one sport, even if you’re thinking head-to-head snowboarding can be like that, but it’s not.
DO YOU TRAIN A LOT IN THE GYM? “Yes I do, of course. Because
Everybody gets an equal chance, you can only be mad at yourself,
you’re training your body that doesn’t mean you’re not a core snow-
which I love because I wouldn’t like to not like somebody, when I’m
boarder. In skateboarding all those gnarly skaters are ice-bathing
on the tour with them and I’m seeing them. It’s different. I’m lucky
every day, you just need to take care of your body if you wanna do it.
I’m a snowboarder. I’m a bad surfer of course compare to all tho-
My body is my income.”
se pros, because all the time I surf with them. Compared to all the other snowboarders I’m pretty good instead. But not like Terje. He
WHERE WOULD YOU BE WITHOUT SNOWBOARDING? “I don’t know.
is really good. I’m always amazed by how well he surfs. You can see
I play a lot of hockey, I skateboard a lot, I don’t know. I could be
it in snowboarding too. It helps, any time you stand sideways, like
doing something like that, but I don’t want even like to think about
skateboarding and surfing. I just like surfing more ‘cause I don’t hurt
it. Honestly, it would suck without snowboarding. Since the first
my ankles and I get in shape and re-hab shoulders. But at the same
time I was snowboarding, that was my passion. There was nothing
time I hate so many things about surfing: why do people get mad at
compared to it. I loved being on the lake with a boat, I loved skate-
people in the water? There’s nothing never like that in snowboar-
boarding, but when I was snowboarding - that was when I was most
ding, because everybody can ride in different directions, in surfing
stoked. I wanted to watch every single snowboard movie that came
there are so many waves but people are acting like they own the
out, I just had and currently have a really, really strong passion for
Ocean. That side bums me out. Snowboarding is more like sharing
it. It’s even hard to explain. I wanted to be a part of it, it was cool. It’s
good things together, with your friends. When you find a new hip,
cool to have the power of stoke people out, to be an inspiration to
everybody hits it and everyone is sharing nature. It’s like they take
somebody is the best feeling to me, that the kids are actually doing
the Ocean for granted, they don’t appreciate it. I’m not speaking for
what I was doing back then: idolizing people. It’s cool to be able to
everybody, of course. Basically when it’s powder day, it’s more fun.
give that service, so to speak.”
FS INVERT BY BLOTTO
BY BLOTTO
BS 1080° DOUBLE CORK INDY BY SCOTT SERFAS
PICS: PHILIPP STRAUSS TXT: ALVARO VOGEL
Japan is one of the most beautiful places on earth and last season I got the chance to bring part of the Northwave & Drake team there for an intense week of fun! The schedule was pretty tight, therefore it was key to plan everything really well and hope that the snow will be still good enough to enjoy some light Japanese powder. We all met up in Sapporo in early March, a warm breeze welcomed us on the northern island of Japan. The vibes were quite good but I could see some anxiousness in Antti’s and David’s eyes. Kohei was a bit more relaxed, probably because he already knew what was going to happen the next couple of days. After cruising through the airport’s parking lot we finally found our car. Neil Hartmann, the man behind the Car Danchi’s movie, was cool enough to let us use his car for the next couple of days in Hokkaido. Totally jetlagged and tired as hell from our intercontinental flight, we started driving toward the goods. Late in the eve-
ning we finally made it Asahaidake. The snow banks looked dirty and nice crusty layers were covering the entire mountain, but we were too tired to think so we went to sleep in order to be fit the next day and start having some fun. The next day we woke up, or really it was only five hours later we all woke up, the wind was blustery around town, the trees were bending in all directions. The weather looked crappy, but we were there to ride so we decided to stay lower in the trees because of the strong wind and find some fun spots to get started. This was my fifth trip to Japan and my fourth time to Asahidake. Antti flew over 20 times to Japan in the last 10 years and Kohei knows every corner of Hokkaido, so it was quite easy to find some nice terrain to ride. Due to the wind and the hot temperature the snow turned really bad, but this didn’t stop anyone. The motivation was so high that in less than an
ANTTI AUTTI: BS AIR
hour everyone had a spot ready. Conditions were tough, I was starting to get worried. The wind started to blow even stronger and a light rain started to fall, but the boys were super motivated, so after already scoring a shot we kept searching for more good spots. After a short drive down the mountain we found a nice gully were Antti, Kohei, and David, who are all really good transition riders, found the perfect spot to build a nice quarter pipe. We shaped all afternoon under the rain, we were soaking wet when we left, but something changed really fast; on the way to our mini van the temperature dropped and the heavy rain turned into heavy snow. Once we got back to the car the snow already covered the entire road in white and I saw some sprinkle in the eyes of my team. We all started dreaming and telling Dave stories about Japan’s heavy snow fall although everyone was aware that we were already late in the season and the weather could have changed back to spring time in less than an hour. We all went to sleep with the same hope to wake up with a solid meter of fresh.
The next day we woke up and unfortunately the wind kept blowing all night long, and the temperatures dropped even more making the snow flakes even smaller. After breakfast we all sat together and started to plan our day, we knew we had only one more day so we wanted to be the most efficient we could. We jumped in the car and we hit the road. Antti’s feature was the first one ready and started to hike the way into the goods. Dave was the rookie of the crew and he was more than hyped to ride some fresh powder. For him it was the first time in Japan and he was more than excited to be there with such a crew of rippers. From one side it was good for him because they helped him a lot on the other side he had lots of pressure to deliver and sometimes he set himself on really complicated spots instead of going for the sure things that Kohei and Antti showed him. I think this all part of the learning curves that every rookie goes through when they first get into new terrain with a banging crew.
KOHEI KUDO: FS RODEO
WHAT MOST OF THE ROOKIES DO NOT CONSIDER IS ALWAYS THE INRUNS AND THE OUTRUNS OF MOST OF THE FEATURES.
KOHEI KUDO: HAND DRAG
WE HIKED THREE DAYS, WE NEVER TOOK A LIFT A ND WE SHREDDED EVERYDAY FROM SUNRISE TO SUNDOWN.
KOHEI KUDO: BS AIR
Japan has great snow and really nice looking terrain, it’s easy to imagine yourself riding a mushroom or hit a pillow, but what most of the rookies do not consider is always the inruns and the outruns of most of the features. Most of them are really complicated and sometimes even more technical than the trick itself. We spent all day hitting everything we found in front of us and we ended the day at the quarter pipe we built the day before. As Team Manger and Filmer I couldn’t be more happy that everyone delivered and everyone went home with a big smile and this is the pure essence of snowboarding: discovering new places and having fun with your friends. There are no rules or styles you need to match everyone can ride and express themselves the way they wants to. The snowstorm didn’t stop, so the next day we woke up with over a meter of fresh. Huge snowflakes kept on falling from the sky and my boys kept on sending it all day long until the
sun went down. I was even happier than the day before, this was my first trip to Japan as a filmer and watching Antti, Kohei and David having fun through my lenses is something indescribable. All the hiking, the heavy backpack and those frozen fingers are all forgotten once you keep getting banger shots and watching how much fun it is riding waist deep pow in the middle of nowhere. We hiked three days, we never took a lift and we shredded everyday from sunrise to sundown. We jumped, we rode pillows and we hiked even more and after that we jumped in the Onsen. Our first three days just flew and we were back in the car driving to Sapporo in order to participate at the AIR MIX in Gala the next day. We flew from the northern island to Tokyo and then we took the Shinkanzen to Gala, where our friends from Northwave/Drak Japan welcomed us with a delicious dinner.
The next day we showed up at the comp with some really heavy legs from the previous days hiking in the back country and travelling through all Japan with public transportations. The boys were motivated and the features ware were super good, but I believe the that all travelling made my them a bit tired. I was still seeking to get some filming done so we started off a nice hand-plant session on the quarter pipe at the bottom of the park. It qQuickly became a session into the session, everyone joined in although the contest was almost ready to start. We sessioned the all whole park for two days we in totally spring conditions, we partied for Antti’s 30th birthday at the Pirates Bar and we met a lot of cool people sharing the same love for of snowboarding. and Uunfortunately we had to leave in order to make it to our flight back to Europe the next day. Team trips are always fun but this one will forever stay in my memories. We experienced every kind of weather condition, we travelled all around the country just on a mission to ride
our snowboards, test the new gear, and most importantly to have fun. We met a lot of cool people and we made a lot of new friends and our team Northwave/Drake became a family. Everyone was always there for each other to help and to share the fun. Japan trips are a must for me and I’m happy I could bring the team to the land of the rising sun. For me it is the best place in the world to ride powder and have a good time. The food, the culture, the hospitality, the mountains, the snow and the cities as well are just amazing. You can travel all around the world looking for the best snow conditions, but if you want to be sure to find it, you just need to buy a flight to Japan and hit the roads. Our seven-day trip to Japan finished up with a pure fun spring shred day and with some cold Japanese beers . See you soon Japan.
DAVID DJITÉ: SLASH
ANTTI AUTTI: DRAKE GUERILLA BOOTS: NORTHWAVE LEGEND BINDINGS: DRAKE FIFTY OUTERWEAR: HAGLÖFS GOGGLES: SHRED OPTICS KOHEI KUDO: DRAKE TEAM BOOTS: NORTHWAVE DECADE BINDINGS: DRAKE FIFTY OUTERWEAR: OAKLEY GOGGLES: OAKLEY DAVID DJITÉ: DRAKE GUERILLA BOOTS: NORTHWAVE PROPHECY BINDINGS: DRAKE RELOAD OUTERWEAR: ZIMTSTERN GOGGLES: SHRED OPTICS
TXT: GIACOMO MARGUTTI PIC: DENIS PICCOLO
“Two difficult days went by: no wifi and no other modern technologies we are all used to. We had to learn how to spend some time alone and in silence, to cook at the fireplace, to conserve what we had bought and to get to know each other with some long talking around the fireplace.”
you live for snowboarding. Take a look at this picture here in this page. You do not see any trick, it does not document any incredible manoeuvre: you just see four friends who are getting home with a smile of their faces after a day in powder. So much powder has come down that they can ride their boards on the street.
“The essence of a trip is this too, not the super tricks.” These are the words from Achille Mauri, to end up with his report on their Montenegro trip. Friendship, in addition to the fun itself, is a constant if you speak about and you write of and
We started and ended this issue with a smile and some fresh snow. Usually the latter causes the former. May this be a good omen, for all of you and us too. Have a great winter.
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