WE’RE STILL HERE

WELCOME TO THE 10 TH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE OF MOUNTAIN SLEDDER MAGAZINE!

When the vision of this magazine was first dreamed up, no one knew if it would succeed or how long it would last. But the time was ripe with the growth of mountain sledding in 2012, and no magazine was publishing mountain sledder culture stories in the beautiful, visual way we envisioned. Mountain Sledder grew to fill that void.

The direction of our content has evolved a little over the last ten years as we’ve matured, but not that much. We’re still telling the stories of people who live the mountain sledder lifestyle, and we have no plans to change.

There have been some epic challenges along the way, not the least of which has been navigating the shift to digital publishing platforms.

The explosion of social media has been a blessing and a curse. It’s easier now than ever to share our stories with a broader audience—but quantity trumps quality on social media, and it is just as easy to become lost in the noise.

The biggest obstacle in delivering what you now hold in your hands—one that we are forced to reconsider annually—is the ever increasing cost of printing and shipping our magazine. This hurdle, perhaps more than any other, has compelled many beautiful, high-quality outdoors lifestyle print publications to close up shop in recent years.

But with every challenge comes an opportunity, and this is a celebration, not a sob story.

WE’RE STILL HERE.

That’s thanks to the unwavering support of readers like you, and our advertising partners who keep us going. Thank you.

We still love doing this. It’s a challenge, but it’s also incredibly rewarding. We’re living the dream—riding sleds, meeting amazing people and exploring new places. And we continue to feel that there is real value in something you can hold in your hands and cherish for a moment or two. It’s all worth it.

See you next year.

RIDER: ANDREAS BERGMARK @andreas_bergmark

This shot was taken at Julie-Ann Chapman’s annual birthday party ride. There were about 12 of us from all over Western Canada riding at one of our local Nelson, BC sledding areas. Our pilot friend Josh had wanted to fly in to say ‘hi’ and join us for lunch. The conditions weren’t ideal for flying but at one point there was a window in the weather, so we called him up. Josh flew in and landed on a frozen lake to meet us, making Julie-Ann’s birthday celebration a little more special.”

“Clear riding days are few and far between on the West Coast, and we often struggle with a lack of good lighting for photos. To add some light and depth to our photos on dark days, my son Carter and I have been experimenting with using remote flashes. For this shot, we placed one flash behind the waterfall for some backlight, and a second in front of where Carter planned to make a re-entry. Experimenting with flash lighting has been a great learning experience for both of us, and Carter’s riding has improved a ton throughout the process.”

– Allan