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DAVID BERTSCHINGER BY CYRIL
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For all those who believe that Japan is only fresh snow and powder and powpow and white... ok, you got it. Three consecutive pictures to turn our impression and our cultural heritage around after so many stories of trips in the land of the rising sun searching for virgin snow fields. HALLDOR HELGASON, OTARU, JAPAN, CYRIL
Yes, together with Halldor there was also Max, this Italian guy who is now famous all around the world. And, yes, normally he likes to come down the stairs that way. You have to admit that it is faster and not really that dangerous. Well, almost. MAX ZEBE, OTARU, JAPAN, CYRIL
Sage won the Olympics. After that, not so many contests anymore. Who cares of comps, when you can travel around the world to have fun on your board after choosing your mates for the trip? Then if Sage and Halldor pick each other, you can only expect good stuff out of that kind of duo. SAGE KOTSENBURG, OTARU, JAPAN, CYRIL
TXT: GIACOMO MARGUTTI PIC:CYRIL
Four-time world freestyle champion, three-time U.S. Open champion, three-time Baker Banked Slalom champion Craig Kelly passed away 13 years ago, under an avalanche while he was guiding a group of riders in British Columbia, Canada. I remember that on that day, January 21st 2003, I was in Livigno, covering the Burton European Open for my second time. It was still one of my first big international contests as a reporter, but I knew all the riders from the magazines I devoured in those days. And, of course, Craig Kelly’s death struck me so much, as well as everybody else who was there in Livigno. I remember the next day they suspended the contest, a huge snowfall happened and we all enjoyed a day off, to shred together as friends, not journalists, riders nor photographers anymore, dedicating our riding to Craig’s memory. Craig Kelly was a hero for many, as had been one of the most prominent riders for more 15 years back then. He influenced our sport and defined snowboarding as we know it nowadays. The legendary snowboarder is still a hero for all of us, 13 years later, and ever will be.
Antti Autti
Ph: Luca Crivelli
In pizza we trust 2016 / 2017 Collection
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EDITOR IN CHIEF Denis Piccolo | denis@tabcommunication.com EDITORIAL COORDINATOR Giacomo Margutti | giacomo@tabcommunication.com EDITORS Denis Piccolo | denis@tabcommunication.com Cristian Murianni | murio@tabcommunication.com ADVERTISING OFFICE welcome@tabcommunication.com ART DIRECTOR George Boutall | george@evergreendesignhouse.com GRAPHIC DESIGN Letizia Macaluso | letizia@evergreendesignhouse.com SEQUENCE-MAGAZINE.COM Alberto della Beffa | alberto@tabcommunication.com Daniela Micali | daniela@tabcommunication.com PHOTO SENIOR Matt Georges | hello@mattgeorges.com Denis Piccolo | denis@tabcommunication.com
INFO: welcome@tabcommunication.com
PHOTOGRAPHERS & FILMERS Cristian Murianni, Davide Fioraso, Marco Morandi, Gianfranco Battaglia, Andrea Schiliro, Matt Georges, Cyril COVER David Bertschinger by Cyril COLLABORATORS Antonio Isaja, Enrico Santillo, Lisa Filippini, Simone Natale, Marco Contardi, Alessandro Belluscio, Elisa Maria Ferrari COMPANY EDITOR Tab Communication Via Paolo Bassi 29 Milano 20159 welcome@tabcommunication.com PRINT Grafiche Ambert Verolengo TO DISTRIBUZIONE FreePress 30.000 copies distribuited in Italy, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, England in 1200 snowboard shops
1617-NITRO-QUIVER-AD.indd 1
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FREESTYLE SELECTION ESSENTIAL BINDINGS TERMOFORMING BY THIRTYTWO BOOTS KORUA ARTIST SERIES NORTHWARE & DRAKE INTERVIEW 10 YEARS OF SKATE BANANA PRO SETUP: GIANMARCO MAIOCCO THEY WEAR TWEET STARS PRO SHOP SUPERTRICK WRT CHECK OUT NICOLA LIVIERO BOOM THE NITRO MOVIE FUNKY TRIP WORLD CUP BIG AIR MILANO STRONGER MARCO GRIGIS TRANS SIBERIAN EXPRESS SEARCHING FOR ITALIAN DOLOMITES WORD OUT
SHAYNE POSPISIL BY CYRIL IN AUSTRIA
OLI GAGNON
SCOTT STEVENS PRO MODEL
HAND BUILT AT THE WORLD’S ONLY 100% HYDRO POWERED SNOWBOARD MANUFACTURING FACILITY.
THE MOTHERSHIP CONNECTION DIST. BY CALIFORNIA SPORT www.californiasport.info tel 0119277943
BY THE EDITORIAL STAFF
DRAKE DF2
BURTON PROCESS OFF AXIS
The DF2 is the board you take anywhere and everywhere in the world. The most versatile freestyle board in Drake’s lineup, ride this smooth flex board top to bottom in the park through technical rails and big jumps.
This action-packed Process aligns performance with your stance for the ultimate in park-tuned geometry. A twist on the pro’s pick for freestyle, the Process Off-Axis aligns key tech with the park rider’s stance to unleash the board’s natural flex, edge hold, and landing control.
152 . 154 . 156 . 160
152 . 155 . 157. 159 . 162
CAPITA SCOTT STEVENS
DC MEDIA BLITZ
Often imitated but never duplicated, Scott Steven’s riding and personal style blow minds. This durable, versatile, twin-tip park destroyer is what Scott uses to get wild. With a shape that turns on a dime, this board was made to jib, bonk, slide, shred, ride and pop off of anything
Torstein Horgmo’s pro model series is updated for 2017 to DC’s new Double Camber profile and finished with bleeding goth babe design. A rocker profile, to deliver precision response for the whole spectrum of freestyle from rails & street to park jumps & powder landings.
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K2 BOTTLE ROCKET
LIB TECH ATTACK BANANA
K2 has accessed pockets of untapped creativity by throwing out convention, cutting 3-5 cm from a standard board length, increased waist width, and flattened the tip and tail of this true twin shape to deliver better float, surfy maneuverability, and more precise cord-carving.
The all terrain quiver killer. The Attack Banana EC2 snowboard has enough pop and stability to stomp anything, kills the park, carves the groomers and ice and effortlessly floats the pow. A perfect snowboard. Effortlessly award-winning fun for beginners to pros.
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151 . 153 . 156 . 156W . 159 . 159W . 161 . 161W
NITRO CHUCK
RIDE CROOK
Step up your freestyle further with Nitro’s big boy park snowboard that Torgeir Bergrem, Nils Arvidsson, and Gjermund Braaten choose for lightweight performance and unparalleled pop. They love its perfect blend of freestyle pop.
The RIDE Crook has all of the guts to defy conventional snowboarding. Its versatile shape and familiar rocker through tip and tail makes the Crook a team favorite for both morning hot laps and afternoon film cameos.
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PHOTO: TBIRD
TEA M PLAY ER S I N CE ‘ 9 2
RID ESNOWBO ARDS.COM
@R I D ES N OWBOA R D S
TXT: GIACOMO MARGUTTI PICS: DENIS PICCOLO
The Team is designed to be Nitro’s most versatile all-terrain performance binding. The new Stealth AIR Base Frame provides lightweight precision and response for navigating down any line, and comfort you can feel all day long. The 2x4 mini disc system provides you with the most natural board flex and ride you have ever experienced. The new Asym Jet Highback delivers a perfect blend of support, response and flex for straight-line descents to hot laps in the park!
NITRO TEAM
K2 FORMULA A tough, lightweight chassis, seamless EVA footbed, and all-new Custom Caddi™ strap with comfortable and durable Neoprene makes the perfect Formula for solid performance all over the mountain. The K2 Formula is a versatile men’s binding with adjustable forward lean and direct heelside support – seamless and easy to use.
With a slightly stiffer urethane highback, the Ride LTD binding is aimed at the guy who wants a little more rigidity in his life, but is flexible when he needs to be. To improve response, Ride attached a brand-new, minimal Padless Ankle Strap and packed in an ultra-light Wedgie™ footbed. When it’s time for that last jump in the lineup, know that your binding game is strong with the Ride LTD.
RIDE LTD
DRAKE SUPERSPORT Freestyle oriented with reduced weight, the Supersport binding is a toolless setup for simple setup and alterations. Drake’s Prime highback gives symmetric flex patterns to your boot.
Forged Carbon and Union patented DuraFlex Nylon integrate into a precise blend of performance and comfort. Developed with Travis Rice, this incredibly light and comfortable highback features a modern fit shape and durability levels second to none.Far from your typical product-endorsing athlete, Travis Rice spends extensive amounts of time at the Union HQ in Northern Italy. From sketches on paper, to working with the engineers, to ripping lines anywhere and everywhere testing his widespread involvement - Travis’ passion with product runs deep.
UNION T RICE
P: JOEL FRASER
FORCE
BUILT BY UNION BINDING CO RIDDEN BY PHIL JACQUES
Watch Phil manhandle this spot in STRONGER. The Union Team Movie – featuring Kazu Kokubo, Gigi Rüf, Scott Stevens, Travis Rice, Phil Jacques, Dustin Craven, Bryan Iguchi, Anto Chamberland, Arthur Longo, Dan Brisse and Torstein Horgmo. FEATURED TECHNOLOGY
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UNIONBINDINGCOMPANY.COM STRONGER. CALIFORNIA SPORTS 0119277943 – WWW.CALIFORNIASPORT.INFO
All 32 boots are heat moldable, or thermoformable. The process is simple and the outcome is amazing. Customise your fit!Many know that Thirtytwo boots are thermoformable, but a few people take advantage of this simple process that, if you do it at the beginning of the season and you follow a few and easy instructions, can improve your boots’ fit, comfort and performance.To cut it short, during the thermoforming process, the fabric that the “Intuition Foam” liner is made of, warms up, expands and gets softer. If you wear your boots during this phase, the warm liners stick to your feet getting their exact shape.More than just support your foot’s shape and so the liner is more comfortable right from the first steps, it also fills up the empty spaces left by a tight sole or a thin instep – and that is another plus on the performance’s side. Thanks to the thermoforming, you will avoid those painful issues at the beginning of the season, while your foot will also stay tighter and firmer inside the liner’s structure, giving you a sensation of a total wrapping. Your boots’ tight-fitting do not only depend from how strong you tie the external laces, but it starts from the internal liner’s suitable closure. So give it a try: go thermoform your boots and check out the difference! To avoid your liner gets damaged and for an ideal thermoforming, this process should be done by an authorised ThirtyTwo dealer with a specific kit. The process does not damage your boots at any case, and it can be done more times.
BY GIACOMO MARGUTTI
BY GIACOMO MARGUTTI
On October 24 Korua Shapes dropped three unique boards, all of them hand-drawn by Korua’s friend and ambassador Aaron Schwartz. They are one-of-a-kind and would be available exclusively in Korua online shop ( HYPERLINK “http://koruashapes.bigcartel/”koruashapes.bigcartel.com). Aaron joined Korua crew on many trips last season and the boards reflect the good times they had together in the mountains. The Apollo 56 (regular) was created at Korua’s home resort in Laax, Switzerland, and sums up what everyone love about snowboarding. Same goes for the Stealth 56, which was drawn in Japan while they were over there filming for Korua’s upcoming movie. The Puzzle 61 was made at the ISPO in Munich, where Aaron asked the people stopping by the Korua booth where they loved to ride, and drew those places on the board. The complete “list” features 100 resorts and secret spots from all over the world. “This particular Apollo 56 was created for an art exhibit I hosted in Flims/ Laax called The December Show,” said Aaron Schwartz. “The idea was to include all these different elements around snowboarding on the board - like the forest, mountains, clouds, and so on - but also highlight the influence surfing and water has on snowboarding. In addition, the Korua mantras YearningForTurning and WeLoveTurns are well represented.” Short but float, the Apollo 56 is really nice in the trees, the short length still allows fast moves. Even though the look reminds of a retro fish the overall characteristics give it quite the feel of riding a shortboard in small clean waves. The asymmetric tail offers goofy foot riders a different experience than regulars. Experience has shown that it works well for women, lightweight and small riders from the beginner level all the way to the experienced pow rider. It’s quite surprising to see how well it
performed on steep spines in AK. “I drew the Stealth 56 at the Japan Snow Expo in Yokohama, just outside of Tokyo,” said Aaron Schwartz. “The idea is similar to the Apollo, in that it includes all these elements surrounding snowboarding. But for this one I wanted to play with negative space and the shape of the board itself, instead of filling the entire top-sheet.” The 156cm of the Stealth brings 4316sqcm, which is very nice for the heavier riders or those lighter weight riders who love to stay right on top of things. Compared to the Pencil the Stealth has a wider nose and thus a more chill and forgiving vibe in powder even though it’s shorter. Due to its float, your feet don’t drag and this makes takeoffs, and landings in deep pow a lot easier. It really holds the speed and thus is also nice for long, speed turns.“The Puzzle 61 was made at the ISPO convention in Munich,” said Aaron Schwartz. “I sat at the Korua booth for a few days and asked the people stopping by where they loved to ride, and drew those places on the board. It was a great interactive experience and a real pleasure to chat with people about snowboarding while drawing right there on the spot.” The Puzzle shape is quite similar to the Apollo but the obvious difference lies in the tail. It offers more torsion stiffness, which gives it more response coming from the tail. Ideal for short powerful riding style and snappy sprays. It is quite reactive and offers immediate response over the back foot, ideal if you still want to put some Airs in your run. All these boards have been lacquered and can be ridden but you’d better store them carefully as they are collector items. As we write this story, there are still two left – the Stealth and the Puzzle. Keep in mind - there is only one of each!
WHICH ARE THE NEW ADDITIONS TO THE NORTHWAVE BOOTS COLLECTION? Northwave is a brand part of snowboarding history. Since 1991 it has been known all around the world for its comfort, performance and quality. The market recognises us as boot specialists and this season we have the new versions of well-known products like our freestyle premium boot the Prophecy, and the Domain, the best for freeride and carving lovers. To satisfy everyone, the Decade has a new construction. NORTHWAVE COLLECTION BOASTS BOOTS WITH SPEED LACING AND BOA SYSTEMS ONLY, THERE IS NO SPACE FOR THE TRADITIONAL LACING ONES. PROS AND CONS OF THOSE SYSTEMS? We are part of this world since the beginning of it and we always pushed forward to improve performances and the users’ experience. That’s why we eliminated the classic lacing system in favour of more modern ones. Northwave was the first company to come up with the Speed Lace system, combining a fast closure with the possibility of differentiating the lower and the higher part of the boot. This season we present a new lacing system called SPIN, with a Dyneema lace, stronger and more flexible than any other metallic wire. It’s even faster, 25% more rapid than any other rotor mechanism, and it’s user friendly - you just need to rotate the wheel to close it and to push the puller forward to open it. Speed, precision in the closure and simplicity are the actual strengths.
in a unique pattern to avoid issues with the corset. Built into the exterior of your boot, our Rubber Shield guards against abrasion, wear and tear, and will give your boot extra reinforcement over its lifetime. The Super Lace SL is our system that allows the closure of two different boot areas, the quarter part and the collar part, in order to allow you to select the perfect feeling on each part and improve comfort and foot stability. Your boot will be closed quickly and will stay tight and perform all day. YOU COLLABORATE WITH VIBRAM: WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THEIR SOLES AND WHAT CHANGED FROM THE TIMES WHEN THERE WASN’T SUCH A RESEARCH IN THIS FIELD? A snowboard boot is not only used when it’s strapped in a binding. Grip now is fundamental during short transfers and more demanding backcountry missions, and Vibram is what the experts want for their boots. Beside this, we use this kind of sole even in our premium freestyle boot, the Prophecy, to stomp one-foot tricks. We co-develop our soles’ tread together with Vibram, to take the most advantage out of our expertise combined. WHICH ARE THE LATEST MARKET TRENDS? As boots specialists, we reckon a huge interest for our premium products, camo colours and black editions with bright accents. To wrap it up, we could say that customers are oriented on a technical product, specialised but not extreme, sober but with its own personality.
YOUR BOOTS CONSIST ON DIFFERENT TECHNOLOGIES: TF3 PRO, CORSET SOCK, RUBBER SHIELD AND SUPER LACE SL. CAN YOU EXPLAIN THEM TO US? The new Prophecy boasts all these features. The Tf3 Pro is our TF3, but juiced up with a unique liner that works with our Corset Lacing to give you the most consistent flex and foot security while riding. The laces are guided
NORTHWAVE IS ONE OF THE MOST HISTORIC BRANDS OF BOOTS. WHAT IS YOUR LEGACY? Northwave has been the first technical pick for those who wanted more than what all the other mainstream brands were offering. As I said before, our brand has its roots in snowboarding history and since 1991 we’ve worked to improve performance and riders’ life. In that sense, we still stick to our roots.
ITW TO DAVIDE SMANIA BY GIACOMO MARGUTTI
NORTHWAVE 50
NORTHWAVE DI
NORTHWAVE JADE
NORTHWAVE KING
NORTHWAVE PRODIUM
NORTHWAVE RADAR
NORTHWAVE RELOAD
NORTHWAVE SUPERSPORT
NORTHWAVE DECADE
NORTHWAVE DEVINE
NORTHWAVE DOMAIN
NORTHWAVE FREEDOM
NORTHWAVE HOVER
NORTHWAVE LEGEND
NORTHWAVE OPAL
NORTHWAVE PROPHECY
DRAKE DF1
DRAKE DF2
DRAKE DF3
DRAKE DFl
DRAKE GUERRILLA
DRAKE LEAGUE
DRAKE TEAM
DRAKE URBAN
YOU HAVE A NICE TEAM: HOW MUCH IMPORTANT IS MARKETING IN A ROMANTIC SPORT LIKE SNOWBOARDING? To have a great team is truly important, it’s a way to show our product’s potential, its substance. This a boardsport, and the riders have a main impact on our world, because it’s basically because of them that the snowboarding scene keeps on growing. Our task is to provide them the right gear so they can perform their best way and get people stoked! WHICH IS YOUR FAVOURITE BOOT? The Prophecy is my favourite one, but I’m partisan because I’ve been on this project since
day one. Almost everyone was already happy with our Decade, but we knew we could pimp it even more with some extra features, like the Rubber Shield, the Corset Sock and its Vibram sole to make it perfect. It’s nice to see the riders’ and the market’s response, showing an opposing trend to the general situation while registering a remarkable growth. FUTURE PROJECTS? Obviously we never stop. We are currently working on a lacing system’s evolution and a new boot for backcountry.
Snowpark
Seiser Alm Best park in italy
32
RAILS & BOXES
16
KICKERS (1 – 20 M)
14
WOODLINE OBSTACLES
Charging your Batteries
1
SECRET STAIRSET
+
FAMILY FUN LINE: WHOOPS, KIDS BOXES & STEEPCURVES...
CONTEST FUN
build by:
beautiful sunsets
WORLD CUP
sweet as candy Best Snowpark in Italy
WWW.SNOWPARK.SEISERALM.IT
BY GIACOMO MARGUTTI
Celebrate ten years of revolutionary high performance snowboard design. Banana Tech rocker/camber combination was first introduced on the Skate Banana and snowboarding has never been the same. Contours designed specifically to make snowboards work effortlessly. Rocker between your feet brings to life the middle of your board… better carving, better float, better edge hold and control. Cambers from your feet to the contacts provide pop, precision and control: “Keep your banana between your legs”. It’s been ten years since Lib Tech literally turned snowboarding upside down by introducing the Lib Tech Skate Banana snowboard. Lib Tech founders Mike Olson and Pete Saari were never satisfied with the camber profiles borrowed from the ski industry, they knew there was a better way to transfer power to the sideways standing carver than traditional ski camber. Mike’s tampering with reverse cambers started as early as 1986 but didn’t truly come to life until 20 year’s later with the help of Lib Tech engineers Steven Cobb and Pos as the highly refined and painstakingly imagined Skate Banana. From the first tests at The Summit At Snoqualmie they knew they had something special when Temple Cummins and Jesse Burtner, two drastically different boarders, tested it on the same day at Snoqualmie and both loved it. The Skate Banana was the playful kick in the pants snowboarding needed, creating new energy for old and young riders alike. It was truly a skate board like experience with easy pivot points and lightening fast edge to edge reaction.
This board, the experimental minds who brought it to life and the rippers who took it to the mountains, magazines and videos of the world ignited a fire in the snowboard world. This fire spread to the point where every brand in snowboarding and skiing was forced to react creating their own reverse camber concoctions to varying degree of success and more often disaster. With a BTX profile and the grippy Magne-Traction contour, the Skate Banana offers that elusive loose feel that won’t buckle or wash out when you actually turn it. Roll back the clock and air things out like you did back in high school with the Lib Tech Skate Banana 10 Year Retro Snowboard. The BTX, Banana Technology is an all-terrain freestyle banana smoothie. Rocker is placed between your feet meeting flat and mild camber at the contact points. This creates mild tip pressure for an unreal float in deep snow and easy-presses. The solid pressure between your feet is great for turning and strong edge hold. Its flex is medium: the most versatile flex because it is equally responsive and friendly giving riders peak performance all over the mountain. Through all this the Skate Banana remains, making snowboarding fun, helping rippers learn new tricks and new comers catch less edges. The last ten years have been epic and the next ten are going to be BANANAS!
rk & Nightpark Setup Snowpa RK: SETUP SNOWPA m), Halfpipe (100 m, 4,5 , 10 Kicker (2 – 16 m) Down Box 7m, Box 3m, Rail 6m, Fun Tube 7m, Rainbow Box 3,5m, il 9m, Down-Flat-Down Ra
x 3m, Up Rail 4m, Up Bo Kinked Box 7m, Starship, Kinked Box 5m, Mila-Box 5m, A-Frame Box 6,5m, 8m, Straight-Step Box
BOARDERCROSS BANKED SLALOM KIDS PARK ES: NEW STRUCTUR Citroen Stairset, High Five Hand, e Citroen Rainbow Tub Multiobstacle
K: la pista Obereggen SETUP NIGHTPAR ma, gi, ve, ore 19:00 – 22:00 lungo di Aperto nelle serate ore 8:30 – 16:30 e tutti i giorni dalle STRUCTURES:
Down Box Kicker Bank Down Tube Butter Rail
Wave Box x Rainbow Wave Bo x Kids Up & Down Bo Up & Down Tube
(2A)
rk
/snowpa bereggen.com .o w w w // NOWPARK m/OBEREGGEN.S o c k. o o eb c a www.f
OBE16_sequence_190x245_3mm.indd 1
04.10.16 12:34
BY EDITORIAL TEAM PIC: MIGI
NITRO TEAM
NITRO CHUCK
L1 SUTTON
NITRO TEAM
ANON M3 MERRIL PRO
L1 SKINNY TWILL
LEVEL REXFORD
THIRTYTWO TMTWO
SURFSHOPPE SESTRIERE Via Pinerolo 14/D 10058 Ssestriere TO
BY DENIS PICCOLO
BLACK DIAMOND TORQUE GLOVES
ELECTRIC ELECTROLITE
THIRTYTWO JONES MTB
BURTON [AK] 3L FREEBIRD JKT
BURTON HITCHHIKER SNOWBOARD BINDING
K2 ROUTE
SCOTT AIR FREE AP 32
BLACK DIAMOND CARBON WHIPPET SKI POLE
BURTON [AK] 3L FREEBIRD PNT
JONES SOLUTION
ANON M2
OUT OF WHIPOUT
BURTON AK HOVER JACKET 2016
BURTON MALAVITA
BURTON AK
BURTON RULER
BRUMA STREET STYLE Via Cesare Dobici 33/35/37 01100 Viterbo VT BURTON CUSTOM
BURTON AK CYCLIC
Lo snowpark per gli amanti del freestyle e dello slopestyle che ha vinto nel 2016 il titolo di Best Park Alpi Ovest Situato a 2200 metri, l’Area Effe si sviluppa in un’area di 20.000 mq per una lunghezza di 650 metri. Accoglie tre linee (Easy, Medium e Hard) composte dai rispettivi box, rail e kicker studiati per assecondare ogni livello di riding. A ritmo di musica, sempre connesso grazie al free wifi ed in totale sicurezza troverai uno Snowpark perfettamente curato, shepato e fresato quotidianamente. È raggiungibile dal centro di Aosta in 30 minuti con la cabinovia e la seggiovia Grand Grimod.
SCOPRI TUTTE LE NOVITÀ SUL NOSTRO NUOVO SITO
0165.521148 347.7653434 info@pila.it
Promo Areaeffe per Sequence \90x245 mm .indd 1
AREAEFFE snowpark Pila #AREAEFFE #PilaAostaValley 01/12/16 16:12
BY GIACOMO MARGUTTI
NOV 8: MCMORRIS on the election of Donald TRUMP: “Pretty stoked to be Canadian... Today more than ever.”
NOV 23 Kevin PEARCE on a powder day with a special guest: “There is no better way I could ever imagine starting a snowboard season than riding pow with Jake Burton in Vermont. Today was perfect!”
NOV 25 After Milan’s Big Air, Mark MCMORRIS went all the way to Korea to try out PyeongChang 2018 big air facility and in the meanwhile he even won the contest with the same trick he broke his femur so many months ago. He also bumped into one of his Korean fans: “Lil grom at the event with his copy of Mark McMorris Infinite Air game.” @infiniteairgame NOV 27 Sage KOTSENBURG after one of the first massive snowfalls in the USA: “Shouts to people who hike rails on a pow day. If it weren’t for you the mountain would be more tracked.”
NOV 27 Halldor HELGASON on shellfish: “I got so much inspiration for Lobster Snowboards graphics on the premiere tour. Thank you, thank you. #LobsterSenders #BusinessMan24/7”
NOV 27 Sebastian TOUTANT was all smiles after the Air&Style in Beijing: “Wow, what a contest in China!! Hype to end up second place Congrats to @Marcus KLEVELAND e @Darcy SHARPE.”
NOV 29 Jamie ANDERSON is addicted to nature and natural organic bio food. Homemade is even better: “Homemade bone broth is one of the most powerful superfoods on the planet. Home heading taking place after traveling to South Korea!
LAAX.COM /OPEN
Photo: Mariell Vikkisk
16 -21 / 01 / 2017
ITW BY DENIS PICCOLO
WHEN AND HOW DID YOU COME UP WITH THE IDEA OF AN ACTION SPORT SHOP? In 2004, after a trip to NY, I came up with this street wear idea. I was inspired by a shop in Harlem, where the hh was born – hence the name. I opened the first shop when I was 18. After two years, I strapped in a board and it was love at first sight. From then on, I launched various brands, always refined and personally tested, while I never stopped believing in this sport. Thanks to a summer camp in Les2Alpes I met Mattia, a super motivated guy and hard worker - he is the owner of the Brescia’s Harlem in Orzinuovi. I’m proud to announce the new opening of a shop in Oristano, Sardinia, a few minutes away from Capo Mannu. Andrea enters our family and together with him there are more news like surfing, windsurfing and kitesurfing. WHAT DOES SNOWBOARDING MEAN TO YOU? Friendship, effort, beautiful sceneries, powder, jumps, magic moments and other more difficult ones, trips, crazy wake-up calls but most of all it is sport and life. WHICH ARE YOUR INVESTMENTS IN THE ACTION SPORTS? We organise events, both with the towns and with the private associations, skate contests, writings, live dj sets. On the snow we co-operate with Nextb to guarantee a Sunday bus to go surfing all together, we have a house in L2A where to continue with the season, we organise tests and help our clients with the best solutions to choose the most appropriate gear for their needs. WHAT KIND OF ACTIVITIES DO YOU OFFER YOUR CUSTOMERS? First of all we offer fun in various ways, like Sundays on the snow, downhill, from apres-ski to dawn, to the serious moments to propose news ideas, innovations, technologies and brands that should be the top choices for our clients, who are also friends or, better, part of our family.
DO YOU HAVE A TEAM? We are our team, our strength lays in the never-ending search for news that lead to the involvement of new talents, to improve together with them and make our family grow bigger. HOW MUCH DO YOU BELIEVE IN THE ONLINE SHOP AND HOW MUCH IN A DIRECT CONNECTION WITH YOUR CLIENTS?For sure internet’s showcase is immense and has to be studied very well before getting 100% into the online sale, which in this moment is monopolised by entities much bigger than us. A direct contact with our public is fundamental. On the internet you just buy a product, while from us you can get advices and explanations, a nice exchange of views with somebody who not only tests boards, but uses them on a daily basis, in any weather conditions. WHICH ARE THE LATEST TRENDS IN THE SNOWBOARDING MARKET? Unfortunately fewer and fewer people are interested into snowboarding. Don’t blame the shop owners but the motorways fees, skipass and fuel costs and so on. To go riding is a luxury nowadays, but we are doing our best to offer quality at reasonable prices. We believe in snowboarding and we are lucky to gather a good amount of people to go riding with every Sunday. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF SECOND-HAND TECHNICAL SNOWBOARDING GEAR? Thanks to nowadays’ new materials you can find perfection anywhere I’d reckon, like ultra comfy d30 protections, lightweight and ultra resistant 15k fabrics, super reactive boards that fit all your needs, lightweight bindings, polarised lenses which adapt to light conditions, memory foam boots to copy with your feet’s shape. If you know how to choose and you love this sport, we can get you the perfect condition to start riding with, or flying.
WHAT ADVICES WOULD YOU GIVE TO A ROOKIE? Invest in a fantastic sport, and if you want to get 100% from the mountain, gear up to give your 100%: uncomfortable boots, wrong lenses or boards of crazy lengths all penalise your performance. Do not blame the mountain or the weather out there, but gear up following our advices: ask us, we’ll be there for you to avoid many issues. Don’t give up, the best is yet to come. WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT SPLIT AND STREET SNOWBOARDING? I think both of them are nice displays of our multi-facet sport. The split is a powder board, so you must like floating on the snow, and the idea that you can split your board into two parts as an alternative to snowshoes is fantastic. Street is fast, technical and you must love cement and iron. We can wrap it up like this. Split: the ski mountaineering version, very Jeremy Jones – open spaces, freedom and powder. The focus is on freeriding rather than the resort’s lifts, which are getting more and more expensive and a bigger interest toward a more naturalistic approach with the mountain. Street: rails, tricks, very skate style. You jib, bonk, grind, all together with your friends. It’s your own very personal call, but most of the times people like to pick them both to have an overall view of the mountain. WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE SPOT? Laax, Switzerland: the riders’ paradise. WHAT YOUR SHOP’S STRONGEST POINT? The co-operation, aiming to a never-ending innovation. H. Ford said: “the two most important things are not written in a company’s balance sheet: its reputation and its men. WHO IS YOUR FAVOURITE RIDER? There are many Italian and foreign talents who are really strong. Many of them are friends, others are acquaintances, but we care and back them all. We leave judgements and scores to
contests, we just love to share our passion for snowboarding. THE FIVE MAIN BRANDS YOU HAVE AMONG YOUR TECHNICAL SNOWBOARDING CHOICE: Lib-Tech, Capita, Union, DC, Picture, Oakley. DO YOU SUGGEST TO WAX YOUR BOARD BEFORE THE FIRST SEASONAL RIDE? DIY OR IN A TECHNICAL CENTRE? Absolutely yes, do it! Maintenance is very important, at least once in a year. Melegnano and Lodi rely on a technical centre, while Orzinuovi has its own lab. Waxing lets you preserve your board’s base, hydrates it and makes it slide better on the snow. Doing your edges gives you a better grip while turning and carving. It’s essential to take care of and double check your gear to improve its performance and its safety. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE SNOWBOARD CLUBS? We are pretty happy to collaborate with Nextb, a snowboard club made of serious guys, friendly and easy going. We are both satisfied with what we’re doing, and its numbers confirm the success of our work. FUTURE PLANS? We have many... we are four brains that never stop thinking about creating sponsorships and events. For sure we will start revising all the web section, to facilitate the communication between our four shops and to give our clients an overall view of our products. Our future schedule will be made of concerts, events, underpasses, walls and many other ideas you can find out following our social media pages - each of our shops has its own. Next summer we’ll go again for the Harlem House in Les2Alpes. Other projects: Sardinia, where, during the first two weeks of September 2017, we will open our surf house and where we are also organising ourselves to show you the Bruncu Spina ski area. What to say more than this... we never stop!
MARC SWOBODA: SWITCH BACKSIDE 5-0 CAB 3 There you go with a very technical trick executed by Austria’s Marc Swoboda. To nail this trick you need to know how to ride in switch well, so let’s start it off with some trials in switch bs 50: keep the rail behind your shoulder and jump on it with your backside edge. When you feel you got your switch bs 50 dialed in, start thinking of the next cab 3. So, once on the rail, counter-rotate your shoulders as to perform a switch frontside, towards the right in Marc’s case, still try to maintain your legs in 50-50. While you turn your shoulders, bend your legs a bit to execute a small ollie. At this point, raise your legs and nail your cab 3 without forgetting to cushion the landing well.
Obviously before trying any trick in street, you should be able to land it a couple of times in park, as it is easier and your crashes are less painful.
MARC SWOBODA BY MARKUS ROHRBACHER IN NOVOSI, RUSSIA
HALLDOR HELGASON: MELON TO WALLRIDE This trick might look like very easy, but actually it is not. To approach and execute such a wallride in fact you need to have a certain riding level on your side. The peculiar thing of the tricks in street is that you can’t just go with trials and errors little by little: you just need to drop in and do it. You have to ponder the amount of the right speed you need well beforehand, and when you are sure enough of it – just drop in. When you are at the take-off, go for a nice ollie and gather your legs. At this point, with your right hand grab the backside edge in between your legs and, if you can, bone that melon. Beware it is not a straight jump, you need to land in a wall while executing a slight rotation towards the landing, just
like you would do on a spine. So, while raising your legs and grabbing, keep an eye on the wall’s landing and with the upper part of your body lean a bit to copy the same landing’s incline. To land right on the wall, try not to put any weight on your board’s edges, as you want to land with your board completely flat on it.
HALLDOR HELGASON BY CYRIL IN OTARU, JAPAN
PIC: FIZZA TXT: GIACOMO MARGUTTI SPOT: LIVIGNO ROOKIE TOUR
WHEN DID YOU LEARN SNOWBOARDING? I’ve been riding since I was five years old. WHY DID YOU BEGIN WITH IT AND HOW DO YOU FEEL WHEN YOU RIDE? My dad put me on a board. He used to ride in the 90s, and since then I’ve always ridden... and I’ve never tried a pair of skis on! WHO ARE YOUR THREE FAVOURITE RIDERS? Seb Toots, for his precision. Brage Richenberg, for his style and his smooth riding. Danny Davis, for his approach to snowboarding and to anything else, like contests. WHAT DO YOU LOVE THE MOST ABOUT RIDING? I have not had many backcountry experiences so far, but it’s the riding terrain that fascinates me the most. I really like park riding a lot, maybe because it’s where I give my best, while I’m not such a “street” lover. WHO IS THE ITALIAN RIDER YOU HAVE ALWAYS ADMIRED THE MOST? Since I was a kid I’ve always seen Manuel Pietropoli as a role model, in everything. WHICH IS THE VIDEO YOU HAVE ALWAYS LOVED? Black Winter because, apart from its various hits, every time that I watch it, it makes me want to ride. It’s amazing it hasn’t got me bored yet, even after having watched it so many times! WHAT BOARD, BINDINGS AND BOOTS DO YOU USE? Nitro Sven Thorgren 155, Nitro Team boots (Eero Ettala’s pro model), Nitro Team bindings. It’s the set up that suits my riding best. HOW MANY DAYS IN A YEAR DO YOU RIDE AND WHERE DO YOU USUALLY GO SNOWBOARDING? I couldn’t tell you the exact number, but luckily... many! Last year I skipped 51% of my school days, and I rode during summertime as well for a month and a half, so I’d reckon they were enough... during this winter I’ll be riding at the Alpe di Siusi most of the
time, because the resort gives us (riders of the Italian national team) the possibility of riding a lot basically for free – seasonal skipass and apartment. YOU RIDE WITH AIE BENUSSI’S “B” NATIONAL TEAM: WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED SINCE YOU JOINED THEM AND IS THERE ANY ROOM FOR MAJOR IMPROVEMENTS IN YOUR RIDING? I’ve been in the group since 2014, and so far I believe I’ve grown up a lot... but I also think I still have to improve a lot as well, the road to become a strong and complete rider is still long. YOU PARTICIPATED INTO A WORLD CUP CONTEST IN MILAN SOME TIME AGO. WHAT DID YOU LIKE ABOUT IT AND WHICH RIDERS DID YOU LIKE THE MOST? Milan has been an amazing experience, I have to thank who let me get into that contest because the feeling of being present at a World Cup stop “at home”, in the city, well, it has been beyond words. And the riders... I had already seen them all riding, but for sure finding myself in a competition together with such big names like Marcus Kleveland and Mark McMorris and witnessing how much they are such contest and trick machines... well, it’s been something different. These are riders who maybe during training don’t stomp any kind of trick, but then they never commit a mistake while in contest! WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS FOR THIS SEASON? This season I really want to give it 110%. A part from the goals I want to reach in contests, I planned to learn a lot of new tricks and consolidate everything I already know, trying to get more confident and more stylish. I’ll mainly participate into the Europa Cup circuit, but I’ll have the chance of competing in some World Cup events too, like the big air in Moscow and the Alpe di Siusi slopestyle during the month of January, then for the rest we’ll see...
BY LORENZ HOLDER
The Nitro Snowboards team is stacked with some of the heaviest hitters in freestyle. These riders have blown minds with their progressive videos, but this film shows just how much fun these riders have traveling, filming, and shredding together.
or your friends land an insane or stylish trick, the feeling of getting on the first chair in the morning, the feeling of a pow slash, the feeling of connecting turns, the feeling of landing your first backflip, the feeling of strapping in for your first run - Boom! is the feeling of snowboarding.
You have to hand it to the guys at Nitro: over the years they’ve steadily built up one of the sickest teams in snowboarding. So, bring them all together, take them on the road for a winter, and the resulting movie is guaranteed to be a classic. Boom!
Boom! is the third video from Nitro in the last four years. Nitro is proud to announce their upcoming featured snowboard film BOOM! in co-production with the Red Bull Media House.
Snowboarding is all about being outside with your friends and the feeling of absolute freedom. Boom! is the feeling you get when you
A cinematic perspective of how much fun the Nitro snowboarders have when they are strapped into their boards and riding with the
BY LORENZ HOLDER
BY LORENZ HOLDER
BY LORENZ HOLDER
rest of the team. The film aims to capture the real side of snowboarding - the fun side. We have all seen the Nitro rider parts that blow your minds, but we wanted to capture the reason everyone snowboards no matter how talented you are, we all do it for the same reason - good times! The team has traveled across five continents together on some unforgivable adventures full of parks, street rails, pow, pipes, kinks, nordic islands, rocky mountains, snowmobiling, split boarding, back lips, flat ground flips, quadcorks, slams, and a lot of laughs!
Eero Ettala and his Finland, Austin Smith and Bryan Fox in Oregon, Denis Bonus in the streets of Novosibirsk, Siberia, Markus Keller in Patagonia, Elias Elhardt together with Victor de le Rue in Japan’s powder and on the Austrian Alps, to wrap things up with the wonder boy Marcus Kleveland in his home country, Norway. Snowboarding is fun, don’t forget it: watch the very last segment with all the Nitro riders on the French Alps at the end of the season, where they literally just need their boards to shred and have the time of their life.
BY MARKUS ROHRBACHER
BY MARCUS ROHRBACHER
PIC: ANDREA PIRAS TXT: ELIO FUMAGALLI
I
will
tell
you
what
we
have
done
during
our
mini-trip
filming
with
Fun-
ky in Engadin (St. Moritz and its surroundings) and the goal of our little project. We did not want to film crazy spots nor super technical tricks. The goal was more “artistic”: we aimed to shoot Funky’s image in a very colourful way, together with the natural environment and the very scenic architecture of Engadin’s little towns. We tried to combine skateboarding and snowboarding, a quite pristine idea but also difficult to get it done in such a unique Swiss region. Because of this, our tiny project had to be filmed at the end of the season when the snow is about to melt, the days are getting warmer and skateboarding is doable again. The clips were shot in one of the most beautiful and well-known regions (Engadin, St. Moritz). It was me (Elio, rider), Isacco (the big boss), Pit (Andrea Piras, photographer), Tommaso Lipari (filmer) and Achille Mauri (filmer/skater) on March 11 in Davos. We went to Engadin on a Saturday morning. A few-hour drive far from Da-
ACHILLE MAURI
ACHILLE MAURI
ELIO FUMAGALLI
ELIO FUMAGALLI
ELIO FUMAGALLI
vos. During the trip we stopped a couple of times, as we noticed some mini-spots to ride or some very scenic element where to film some lifestyle shots. Once in Engadin we began the search for more “serious” spots, where we were sure of getting some cool footage. On our way to Maloia’s pass we found this very particular spot. An ancient roman tower that was used in the past to conserve the hunting game. As soon as we got there, I had this idea of doing a wallride. To get it done I had to adapt my first original idea, but in the end I managed to go for a wallride/bonk fs 180 out. When we were sure of having the right shot, we went on in search of the following one. Not having a lot of time, we dedicated ourselves to skateboarding and lifestyle shots while in the evening we went back to Davos. On Sunday morning we went to St. Moritz’s centre, searching for a spot. We found a tiny cemetery with a low of snow, while in the centre there was a very high bell tower. The spot was made of a ledge and one of the bell tower’s sides. At the end of our trip we were really tired, but we managed to shoot lots of footage, taking into account that we had few time, like only two days, for our project.
MARKUS KLEVELAND
PIC: ANDREA ROSSI WWW.ANDREWREDS.COM
MARK MCMORRIS
Marcus Kleveland won the FIS World Cup Big Air in Milan. A predestinate. We all have been waiting for him for three or four years, and at his very first World Cup event... boom, first place. Winning after stomping three triple corks in a row, a 1620 nailed as if it was nothing or a 720 – like, nothing, really. The only rider of Milan’s final to unleash all his three tricks around if not over 90 points. On his path to glory, Marcus even defeated (or come ahead of, because in snowboarding you never really defeat anyone if not your old self) a contest machine like Mark McMorris. Speaking of Mark, despite his final third placement the Canadian rider is to be considered another winner of the big air organised in the former Expo area, since he broke his femur at the Los Angeles Air&Style at the end of last February and came back to competitions right in Milan nine months after that tough injury. Mark even managed to start his new day off with a bang, a triple cork stomped at his very first try in the morning’s qualifiers. In second place there was the ever-green Seppe Smits, one of the strongest and most consistent riders of the past 10 years. Despite having lost a sponsor like Burton a couple of seasons ago, the Belgian shredder did not gave up and managed to finish on the podium of a lot of contests (with a huge win like in Istanbul in 2014) or to end up in the higher positions anyway. Among the girls, the riding level bar was set right from the start way high up there by Anna Gasser, the only female rider who can win
PICS: ANDREA ROSSI TXT: GIACOMO MARGUTTI
MARCUS KLEVELAND, SEPPE SMITS, MARK MCMORRIS
ANNA GASSER, SARKA PANCOCHOVA, HAILEY LANGLAND
all the contests from now on with her special cab double underflip 900. If PyeongChang 2018 slopestyle’s podium is not that predictable yet, the story of the big air event is almost already written with the Austrian rider on top of it with that can double 9 and what might be a backside 1080 in the very next future. None of the other riders (the British Katie Ormerod might be the only one) is that technical and that stylish and that is also why Anna took home her hat trick winning the first three comps out of three since the start of this season: Milan, Alpensia (Korea, the 2018 Olympic Games test event) and Moenchengladbach, Germany. Now we are all waiting for her poker, with a fourth win at the very first historic Air & Style open to female competitors. 10 years after the last big air contest organised in Milan, these ski freestyle and snowboard events demonstrated one more time that, just like what happened in 2006 in Bardonecchia, when the Italians go for it 100% they can put up great shows. Not to mention the level of riding which was just insane. Like it or not, there had never been before Milan a competition with
so many triple corks in just one day. Of course, as always, people made a huge fuss about the pre-event communication and social media went nuts about the unattractiveness of the ads and stuff, but in the end the major goal was the great and good accomplishment of the event itself – and that was the case. During the two-day comp, in fact there has been a huge amount of spectators, especially on Saturday’s snowboard contest. The freestyle skiing one was penalised by the unfortunate schedule, as on Friday at 7pm you can not really expect so many people who have just finished their working day downtown to show up in Milan’s outskirts. Anyways, this FIS World Cup big air has been a success on many points of view. I just hope we will not have to wait 10 years again for the next one but it will be soon organised again at the beginning of the next season, in the lead-up to the Olympics which will be held a few months afterwards.
ARTHUR LONGO
GIGI RUF
DUSTIN CRAVEN
GIGI, JOHNNY & PHIL
JOHNNY O’ CONNOR
PHIL JACQUES
PORTRAITS: GIACOMO MARGUTTI TXT: GIACOMO MARGUTTI
Starring what arguably is the best team in snowboarding, the long awaited Union Binding Company team movie was released at the end of October. Shot entirely with RED cameras in 4K and above, “Stronger” was filmed on location from the peaks of the Alaskan alpine to the streets of Finland, and all the best spots in between. Bringing together legends, veterans and rookies, “Stronger” delivers insane snowboarding from Kazu Kokubo, Gigi Rüf, Scott Stevens, Dustin Craven, Johnny O’Connor, Phil Jacques, Travis Rice, Dan Brisse, Anto Chamberland, Bryan Iguchi, Arthur Longo & Torstein Horgmo. We intercepted five of them during their premiere tour’s stop in Milan to know all about this new release from Union.
TELL ME ALL ABOUT THE MOVIE. Our Union team movie was actually made by Pirate Movie Production, that I’m connected with a lot throughout the last years or, well, actually, since the beginning of their movie making history. It’s good for PMP to get into the international light and our team movie was a great chance for them, because it’s the very first Union movie that has ever been done. I like it a lot, because it’s a typical snowboard movie but also there is a really good music choices, very various, there’s something in there for everyone, and you have all facet of snowboarding. Especially I like watching the freeriding and freestyle parts and it got this in there and for me it’s a like a roller-coaster kinda riding because there’s everything in this movie. There’s Travis Rice and his bold riding, and then there’s Scott Stevens who’s a highlight with his creativity with his incredible tricks, so it’s a nice roller coaster all in all. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE UNION TEAM? It’s an important fact that a binding company like Union made a movie, and this is not really common nowadays. And more than that, the team behind it is one of the strongest. At this moment it’s not comparable to any other company out there. It supports riders on that high caliber and I think it speaks for Union that the drive of the company of course it’s bindings and it’s focussed on this one product, and they’re focussed 100% to deliver strong bindings. Also what I like about the company is that when I got on in 2009 it was a really conscious choice to start working with them and to develop and give my inputs and we were happy about that because they valued my inputs, the team’s inputs and we worked together. It’s really a team-work thing, it’s great. WHAT KIND OF MODEL DO YOU RIDE? At the beginning I picked one binding in the middle range, the Contact binding, it’s where it took off over the years with my input and development. And then it turned into a new model that it is a Contact Pro which had a mini-disk that we developed and this became then the Ultra binding that I ride now. I also ride the FC when I’m on a soft reverse camber board that I like to feel the response that the board and that’s kinda like my way of adapting my set-up to the conditions. If I have a freeride board which has reverse camber I like to have more manipulation from the binding while otherwise if I have a strong board like regular camber, with a reactive riding, I like to have a rollie-tweaky binding.
WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT “STRONGER”? The movie turned out to be really good. High level of snowboarding paired with such a high level of movie production. That has been the highest level of video production I’ve ever worked with so for my career I don’t think I’ll ever get another opportunity like this ever again. So that’s why this movie is pretty special and unique for me. WHICH IS THE PART YOU LIKE THE MOST? I really like the Revelstoke section, just because it’s home for me. You see people shred your mountains, your area, and it’s always very unique. And then Kazu’s part kinda stands out because I got to snowboard with him a lot. So I saw what it took. WHICH MODEL OF UNION BINDINGS YOU RIDE? The Contact Pro. It’s light and it’s also very flexible. I find it really good. I used to ride the Force a lot when I was younger but now I just use the Contact Pro especially in the backcountry.
HOW DOES IT FEEL TO BE PART OF ONE OF THE STRONGEST SNOWBOARD TEAMS ON EARTH? It’s so rewarding to be able to be part of this project and particularly working on this movie with the line-up of riders that there is. It’s pretty mindblowing to see my name beside those names, it’s pretty crazy. It was great to film with them. I got to film and ride a lot with Johnny (O’Connor) and Scott Stevens, it was pretty much all people that I had already filmed with before but it was a great year and just went to a bunch of new places and it was fun, a great winter. WHICH IS THE PART OF THE MOVIE THAT YOU LIKE THE MOST? They are all really good. Kazu’s part - I really like it. And also the Bryan Iguchi’s and Arthur Longo’s part I don’t know why but it stands out to me just ‘cause they ride the same terrain and they both do really different stuff on it so it all comes out really good. WHICH UNION BINDINGS MODEL DO YOU USUALLY RIDE? I ride the Team binding which basically is a Force. That’s the binding they gave me for the movie because it was all white with a huge team logo (laughs) but I’ve been riding that binding for probably three years now and it just works, it’s simple, you just know it always works.
HOW DOES IT FEEL TO BE PART OF SUCH A TEAM? This is what I would consider a dream come true. I’ve looked up to all these riders in my entire life before I had sponsors, before I knew I had to do any of the trips I’m doing on these days, to be in the same project with them still trips me out to this day. I look at the roster, I watch the video and I’m still blown away so it’s the biggest honour I’ve had. The fact that they gave me this opportunity with Union is just incredible.
ARTHUR LONGO BY ANDY WRIGHT
GIGI RUF BY ANDY WRIGHT
KAZU KOKUBO BY DARCY BACHA IN REVELSTOKE, CANADA
DUSTIN CRAVEN BY DARCY BACHA IN REVELSTOKE, CANADA
DUSTIN CRAVEN BY ANDY WRIGHT
GIGI RUF BY ANDY WRIGHT
HOW WAS TO FILM YOUR PART LAST YEAR? It was really cool to be a part of a high-production video that you can clearly tell the difference between snowboard projects I’ve done in the past from the film quality and the riding. Just learning from some of these guys’ approach was really helpful and was gonna help shape my future as a snowboarder. WHICH PART DO YOU THINK REALLY STANDS OUT IN THE MOVIE? That’s a tough question. I love Kazu’s, Dustin Craven’s, Torstein’s, Phil’s parts - incredible all-round parts. You gotta really watch it a few times in order to understand the technical things that they’re doing and how high risks they’re taking in some of these shots. The difficulty is incredible. So I suggest watching the video several times in order to process what they’re doing. WHICH MODEL OF UNION BINDING DO YOU RIDE? I’m riding the Team binding and that is the Force. I love it. Next year I’m gonna be trying out some different ones, they get a better feel for all the different kinds and learn more of the technical aspects to really get a grasp of what I like the most.
HOW DOES IT FEEL FILMING WITH SUCH A TEAM OF RIDERS? I loved the idea of the team movie, so I’m glad I could sneak in the movie as well. I got injured last season so I wasn’t really sure if I could get any filming trips but two months after my injury Basti (Balser, the producer of Pirate Movie Production) called me one Friday night and asked me if I wanna be in a trip with Bryan Iguchi in Eagle Pass and we had to be there on Monday so I just booked a flight on the spot
and two days later I was flying there. I met the guys, I was with Flo and Justin and it was just really, really comfortable that it was the Pirates producing the movie - it was very nice to do something together again and riding with Bryan was probably just the best for me. Coming back from an injury, I mean, he was really taking care of being safe in the backcountry and I think he has a really good management of risks and everything and the conditions were just so perfect. We arrived and we had four or five days of flying in a row and we got so lucky because it was probably one of the best snowboard trips I’ve ever had. In two weeks we had the footage you see in the movie and I’m really happy to be among those guys in the movie, what they did in the streets is really inspiring too. I almost enjoyed it more than what we did in the backcountry, it’s something that I love to watch and I really love the movie all in all. WHICH PART OF THE MOVIE YOU LIKE THE MOST? I’ve already seen it twice and the first time I was like ‘Fuck, Johnny’s part is just insane.’ And then I watched it again and there’s no weak parts for sure. All of them are really sick, but again Johnny’s part is really insane. I think it’s really good because we got like riding in Japan, riding in Eagle Pass, we got so much sweet stuff and it’s a really good mix of what snowboarding is. WHICH MODEL OF UNION BINDINGS DO YOU RIDE AND WHY? I had the Team bindings for a while and I really like them. They are really good bindings and so comfortable. The Contact and Team I like them both because they’re really simple, efficient and it works, strong, and last long – I never have to change any parts or anything. It’s a good compromise between being soft and stiff, just super good bindings overall.
PICS: ROBY BRAGOTTO ITW: GIACOMO MARGUTTI
DOLOMITES, ITALY
I met Marchino six or seven years ago, when I went all the way down to New Zealand to take pictures with the Italian national team. He was more or less 15 years old back then, basically still a kid – and a pretty wild one. One morning before going up to Cardrona park, I don’t really remember what he did to me, a joke or something, but I kind of overreacted and I spilled my cereal&milk all over him. Lot of laughters then. Marchino quite never gets angry. He has always been such a natural talent on a snowboard. He loves nature, his benjo, music and all the small good things of everyday life. He is just an overall good guy. HOW WAS YOUR PAST SEASON? I’ve never felt so well on my board and I think it has been one of my best so far. HAVE YOU FILMED A LOT? All the footage we managed to shoot comes from the only powder week we had. Surely I’d like to dedicate myself to it a lot more. AFTER A FEW YEARS ON THE NATIONAL TEAM, WHY DID YOU CHOOSE TO QUIT WITH CONTESTS? WHAT ARE YOU UP TO NOW? I still want to participate into some few events, but I’m aiming to filming much more. WHAT DO YOU LIKE THE MOST WHEN YOU ARE ON A POWDER TRIP? The most fascinating aspect of it all is exploring new places. You don’t limit yourself to just riding the park for the whole day, but you search new things to do. You have the whole mountain for yourself, and you can interpret it as you like. WHAT DO YOU LIKE THE MOST OF THE TIMES YOU USED TO COMPETE? Competing gave me the opportunity of travelling around the world while seeing amazing places. The only thing I did not like was that some contest’s features were sometimes poorly designed and built, and it was dangerous for us riders. We also often kind of have to participate into those dangerous comps with chances of getting injured. WHICH ARE YOUR HOBBIES WHEN YOU ARE NOT RIDING? I have a real great passion for anything connected to the mountains. From climbing to slackline. All these “sports” are similar: their philosophy is ARLBERG, AUSTRIA
DOLOMITES, ITALY
THE WHOLE MOUNTAIN IS AT YOUR FEET AND YOU ARE FREE TO DRAW YOUR LINE AS YOU PLEASE
just the pleasure you get when you practice them. I’m also a real music maniac. WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO BE WHEN YOU QUIT SNOWBOARDING? I’ll surely stay connected with the mountain environment and maybe, who knows, I’ll tour with my band “Louis&TheSpaceTravelers” :D WHICH RIDERS DO YOU ADMIRE THE MOST? Mark McMorris, because he managed to bring his stunning riding level from park to backcountry. WHO ARE THE TOP THREE RIDERS IN THE WORLD? Mark McMorris, Stale Sandbech, Nicholas Muller. WHO IS THE MOST UNDERRATED RIDER? Nowadays unfortunately there are many super strong riders who aren’t backed by any sponsors. It’s just a bad period. Riders are not underrated, it’s just snowboarding in general. DO YOU THINK SNOWBOARDING CHANGED A LOT SINCE YOU BEGAN? Sure, snowboarding is not what it used to be. But nothing is
what it used to be, neither am I. Evolution is natural. And it’s up to us to progress with all the sports’ monotony, or to keep snowboarding’s spirit alive. WHAT DO THINK OF THE QUADS AND SO ON? I think everyone is free to do whatever he wants. I respect any kind of snowboarding, as long as you do it for fun. See above... WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE INTERNATIONAL FEMALE RIDING? They’ve been progressing a lot lately, for sure. And especially during the past season. WHERE DO YOU LIKE TO RIDE? I love the Dolomites. I was born here, and it offers me everything I like to do. Still, I have a lot to explore. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE RIDING LEVEL IN ITALY? We are in good hands! The past season I’ve ridden a lot with the boys. They form a nice group with a lot of energy and they do really want to improve their skills. I’ve also noticed a lot of improvements during just one season. I also think that the general level in the Italian snowparks got better.
DOLOMITES, ITALY
DOLOMITES, ITALY
DOLOMITES, ITALY
DOLOMITES, ITALY
PICS & TXT: MARKUS ROHRBACHER
MARC SWOBODA IN NOVOSIBIRSK, RUSSIA
With its 9288 kilometers the Trans-Siberian railway is the longest one in the world and connects Moscow to Vladivostok. The fact that on this route you pass more than 400 stops and tons of cities makes it a pilgrimage for us snowboarders through Russia. Another important thing is that Russia and especially Siberia is known for long, cold and harsh winters, which is a basic requirement for such a trip. Our crew included myself, Basti Rittig, Marc Swoboda, Denis Leontyev, the cameraman Karsten Boysen and Markus Rohrbacher as a photographer. The goal was to travel by train and just hop off when we thought that it would be a good place to shred. The final destination would have been Novosibirsk which is situated in the heart of Siberia. We also had a big support by two Russian Nitro team riders, Pasha Anishchenko and Sergey Zug. Pasha also lives in Perm and so he knew any kind of spots we were looking for. It’s always good to have a local with you. Especially in countries where almost nobody speaks English. I’m always open to new cultures, but it’s somehow hard to read the face of a Russian. Their face expression always looks the same to me.
They don’t smile a lot and when they talk I never knew if they are happy or angry. But the good thing about their mentality is that they don’t care too much what other people are doing and as the cities are in a bad shape you can’t destroy too much anyways. A crazy warm winter forced us to start our journey from Perm. It is an industrial city and we already knew this place a little bit from a former trip of two years ago. Back then we also learned that Russian traffic could be insane, and a car accident almost ruined our whole trip. That is why we decided to hire a driver with a big van to avoid worrying about the traffic. At the beginning it was a bit odd that a random guy drives you to the spot, but soon we came along pretty well together, although we did not understand each other. While we where shredding, he chilled in the car, smoke a cigarette, even brought a coffee machine with him and sometimes he had a look what we where doing. I guess he never really understood why we were out there and maybe just thought that we were some spoiled kids.
DOMINIK WAGNER IN JEKATERINGBURG, RUSSIA
JEKATERINGBURG, RUSSIA
We collected some great shots in the first days and therefore we decided also to have some good times. A great fact for us was that the current exchange rate was on our side. A visit in a nice restaurant with a three-course meal and a couple of beers did not cost more than 10 euros! We were not really used to that, as we normally have to shoot in Scandinavian countries where we pay 20 euros for a burger. The first days passed by really quickly and after a week in Perm we continued our journey to Ekaterinburg. It is about five hours towards East and we hoped to find more snow and some pretty good spots there. But as we arrived, we could not believe to see only dusty roads with just a little bit of snow in the parks left. We saw tons of spots but the conditions were horrible. In the evening we had a long talk about what we should do. Pash called his friend in Novosibirsk who promised us at least better conditions than there. A part of our crew wanted to give it a try there and the other guys just wanted to leave straight away. We came to the conclusion to hit one spot we found that day. As we came to this rail we realised that it was on a school property.
There was definitely a high chance to get kicked out but we started set up a spot. Some kids were really stoked to watch us and some guys in a car even showed us their Kalashnikovs. After some hits a grumpy teacher came out and told us to stop. Pasha gave his best and had a 30 minute argue with the teacher. The conclusion was that he would give his passport to her and that we would be done in two hours and everything would be cleaned afterwards. We were impressed by his effort, but he was just worried to get his passport back. Luckily everything worked out. We got our shots, Pasha his passport and we went back to the hotel. After 10 days of filming you are pretty sore and you never mind a little break, like a 22-hour-train ride. But first we had to book a train, which was not easy at all. We tried for hours to get the booking done with Russian names that had to be written in cyrillic, but that did not work with our keyboards. Luckily the guy at the reception was super helpful and made our bookings for us. Because of the lack of snow we decided to go straight to Novosibirsk, our final destination. It was a bit of a risk to skip all the cities on our way, but our guide convinced us that this is the best choice.
MARC SWOBODA IN PERM, RUSSIA
NOVOSIBIRSK, RUSSIA
JEKATERINGBURG, RUSSIA
MARC SWOBODA IN PERM, RUSSIA
MARC SWOBODA IN NOVOSIBIRSK, RUSSIA
On the next day we jumped onto the nostalgic train. Tons of beers and snacks should make it a mellow ride till we saw our cabins. Two by two meters for four people and our snowboard stuff. We could have needed two more cabins, but we were stuck in there and our conductor did not allow any bags on the floor. Further it felt like in a sauna as we could not regulate the heating. With some beers and Marc playing some music with his guitar we started our party. But then conductor came in, freaked out and of course we did not understand anything. Pash told us that he wants to kick us of the train, as alcohol is forbidden and because we brought too much stuff on the train. Pash managed it somehow again to fix that issue as we would not end up in the middle of nowhere and we continued our party. During the day we played cards, had some coffees, collected some footage for the media crew. When you looked out of the window you got a feeling how big this country really is. For hours we saw the same big Siberian steppe. But at some point it became kind of boring and we were looking forward to arriving.
Sergey and some of his friends welcomed us at the train station of Novosibirsk. This city is in the centre of Russia and the Trans-Siberian railway was the main reason for its fast development. It is actually a pretty modern city, with cool clubs, restaurant and compared to other Russian cities it is pretty clean as well. He brought us to his car and we were really impressed when we saw his tuned and snow-camo painted BMW X5. We never found out how he could afford such a car, but he was one of the most helpful guys we ever met! No matter if it was about shoveling, getting some pizzas on the spot. We were more than thankful to have such a support by the locals. During the first days it was important to get an impression of the city. We went scouting for the whole day. It is always a bit boring to sit in the car, driving through hundreds of streets looking for any possible spots. But it is always better to have a proper plan than shooting two, tree days then you run out of spots and you have to search again. Sergey was really proud to show us his city and after a long day in the car he brought us to a super nice cocktail bar where you could get
DOMINIK WAGNER IN NOVOSIBIRSK, RUSSIA
hammered with four-euro-cocktail drinks. Denis and Basti could not resist and partied basically every second night. The media crew, Marc and me decided to go home after some drinks, as we wanted to film the next day. Our party boys sometimes went straight to breakfast and Basti once showed up in cap on the spot, as he missed us. Therefore we were pretty impressed that they still collected great shots, and when it was still to early for them they at least helped shoveling to get sober again. When we talk about shoveling I always remember our “GoTo� Zone where we found about ten spots. It is located along the promenade of the river Ob. A big bridge connects the two parts of the city, where also the Trans-Sib goes over. At some places the river is more than one kilometer wide and as we had our peace in this area it almost became our daily playground. Every time we got busted or a spot did not work, we just came back to our promenade and made something there. In the end we made six spots within 200 meters.
For a week I had a closeout with a crazy drop in mind. We were always joking about it but did not take it to serious as we would have to shovel a crazy landing. But after a bust at another spot, we just went there and started to work on the landing. We even did not know if the spot would have worked out. We ended up shoveling two days and got ready just before the evening sun came out. It was prefect session and everybody got a shot. Three weeks on the road is long time and as we were super productive a last party before going home was no question.
MARC SWOBODA IN NOVOSIBIRSK, RUSSIA
PICS : ROBY BRAGOTTO TXT: ALESSIA GUALLA
HALLDOR HELGASON
HALLDOR HELGASON
SIMON GRUBER
SIMON GRUBER
We left you and our story with a van trip, searching for the best conditions to shoot. There were five heroes fighting against the cold and the natural elements with the only goal to wake up one morning, open the eyes and see the vast scenery around them with the mountains all covered up with snow. In the middle of a nightmarish season without any pow pow, getting out of the van and step into the white was a dream which just became real. As Ethan says, “if you’re good at looking around and lucky enough, you’ll always find some good snow.” For those who did not read our previous chapter, we are talking about the adventures of Simon Gruber, Ethan Morgan, Marco Grigis, Marco “Johnny” Morandi (filmer) e Roby Bragotto (photographer) who, during the harsh winter of 2016, decided to get on a van and start their search for powder, hoping to get some good footage and nice pictures. In the previous chapter we saw them struggle with their “gipsy life”, build kickers under the rain in Arlberg, then wake up one morning with half metre of fresh snow and enjoy perfect landings. Then they departed for somewhere else, happy and satisfied with the footage they managed to film, still hungry for more fresh pow. “We were travelling towards the Dolomites, thinking of Passo Rolle. Roby came up with the idea of going to a hut he knew right there.” [Simon] “Passo Rolle is my home. I’m a local there, it’s where I started snowboarding. That place is known by very few people so to find untouched spots. It was high time we had slept in a real bed, after our first real shower. So we went to this hut, a shelter I know very well, the Capanna Cervino, and we took some rooms.” [Roby] “So much used to the van’s life we were that that place looked like the Grand Hotel luxury class! The house lady cooked for us some polenta and pizzoccheri and offered us some grappa too – it really felt like home. It is an incredible spot – you don’t bump into anyone, basically there is no resort at all. There is only one skilift, you are out in no man’s land, with such a beautiful scenery in front of you. You totally live in the nature.” [Johnny] It had just snowed, conditions were perfect. Couldn’t we ask for more? Yes. One more thing to push the stoke level a bit more, when our special guest joined us: mr. Halldor Helgason, together with his filmer Joe Carlino. Useless to say that these two characters made the crew’s humour up to the seventh sky. “They were there to film too and so they joined us. There should have been Sage (Kotsenburg) too, but unfortunately he got injured. With Halldor we shot our best, he’s such a strong motivational person.” [Simon] Johnny had already filmed with Halldor before, during the Nine Knights in Livigno. They had already found a perfect harmony. And so another adventure begins with this cracking jokes spirit, whose Halldor is the number one character, as they start building five kickers. The atmosphere is laid-back and relaxed, snowboarding is basically real fun. From those days’ stories you can get an almost nostalgic tone, as the eyes of the protagonists shine bright and they hardly hold the chuckles. They make you feel a bit jealous, as you end up thinking “I wish I could have lived that too.” “Obviously when the moment of jumping 30 metres comes, you need to re-focus and concentrate. We laughed and made jokes all the time, but it is also a way to face the tension and let the stress go,” Johnny says. “Marchino was one thing with his benjo, there was such a nice and serene atmosphere of a real friendship between us all that few other times I felt. It really worked like this: you wake up in the morning and live your daily adventure, with zero stress and no rush.
SIMON GRUBER
HALLDOR HELGASON
ETHAN MORGAN
HALLDOR HELGASON
ETHAN MORGAN
“We built a kicker in between two trees. Me and Joe spoke about the better angle to shoot it from and we came to the conclusion that the only way was to climb up on it. ‘I’ll go up there,’ I said. It took me 30 minutes to climb it, it was 6 or 7-metre high. Almost like a three-floor building! I first went up with the chainsaw and cut down the branches which were in our shot’s way; then with a rope they passed me my camera. I’d been hanging on that branch for three hours. At some point I even had to pee down the tree, because it was just impossible for me to get down and up in short time.” So, if we think that to be a rider you also have to be a bit crazy, now we know that they are not the only ones. Filmers and photographers should not only be good riders themselves to follow the athletes closer, but they also must have a dose of creativity and a strong will to overtake any kind of fear. It is a passion that goes beyond fear, you need guts, patience and determination to resist the harsh weather conditions. Nature is not always on our side as, especially on a mountain, sometimes it can be adverse and hostile. Roby had never worked with Halldor before, it was the first time for the Italian photographer. “At first I was a bit nervous, as I was almost afraid of taking pictures with such a monster like Halldor. But as soon as he joined us, the vibes were so good that I let all the stress go. I really felt at ease also because I was at home, I know every little part of that place so I did not have to worry about finding the right spots. Our shootings began in the early morning and finished at evening around 8. Our days were really long but we came up with such amazing sunset shots. I think the footage we took at Passo Rolle is unique in Italy – nobody has never come out with tricks like these here. My pictures were sold all around the world, I couldn’t believe it.” Regarding Roby’s pictures, surely you will not miss that double backflip from Halldor in the woods, where the spectators (the riders themselves) are doing something, let’s say, unusual. Then if you see it closer, Halldor keeps one hand on his pants... “what a poor behaviour!” one might think. But there is a story behind all this... At the X Games in 2013, Halldor Helgason aimed for the triple. The “Spin to Win” reigned and as usual style, innovation and creativity did not really matter. Giving the public something understandable and stylish at the same time is not easy nor common. So the most disrespectful man on the international scene opts for modifying his triple into a jerk-off triple backflip. Exactly. While performing a triple backflip, Halldor would also perform a... well, you got it. OK, not really, it was a pantomime. But still... Back to our anecdote, at the end of a long day of shooting with the riders being too tired and the weather being not that good, a no-go day to wrap things up with, Halldor came up with some extra-creativity. Being at his 15th drop-in, as he failed to stomp all his previous attempts, he needed an extra-motivation. It was his last shot, his last try to nail his trick. So Ethan said something like “Let’s jerk-off!”. “Yes, please, yes!” answered Halldor. How to stop him? So everyone went right under the kicker, imitating a jerking-off with audio too. Halldor stomps his double jerk-off backflip - first try. After this much artistic moment at the end of a long day, they were ready to go back home and start it off again the next day, with the same energy since day one. Passo Rolle was done as well, but the trip was not over just yet. The following stop would be in Courmayeur, right at the feet of Mount Blanc, where we will meet other guests and an invitation to a very special event: the famous “Click on the Mountain” contest is waiting for our crew, while the heaviest snowfall of the year is following them...
HALLDOR HELGASON
HALLDOR HELGASON
TXT: GIACOMO MARGUTTI PIC: MARKUS ROHRBACHER
Why the hell a totally normal person comes up with trying multiple times to kill himself, to crush his skull, to break his spine on a stupid useless city rail, maybe after spending a sleepless night out in the nowhere, out in the cold, frozen, eating in a shitty fast-food, cheap beer in a can, you can’t stomp that trick, you just can’t, fuck I really can’t, I just can’t do it, just another try, another shot I need in my part, I do want it, I go on, whatever, silly me when I thought of doing this, I should have stayed home, who cares in the end, OK I do care, let me try, let me just try one more day, oh. Wow. I’ve just done it. I made it. Fuck yeah. Cool. Stoked. I did it. Good stuff. That is why.
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