by The Editors on June 19, 2024
Jim Jannard, the action sporting genius entrepreneur behind Oakley BMX/motorcycle grips, glasses, and, more recently, Red Digital Cinema has reportedly sold his Malibu, California beach home for $210 million according to a story in the New York Post. This apparently breaks the record for most expensive home sale in California state history: a record formerly held by the Jay-Z/Beyoncé Corporation at $200 million.
This 15,000-square-foot stunner sprawls across 9.5 acres of prime clifftop land, boasting a private 300-foot stretch of ocean near El Pescador State Beach. . . The palatial pad includes eight bedrooms, a staggering 14 bathrooms, a massive courtyard, a gym and two guesthouses. . . Interiors designed by Michael S. Smith — the same guy who revamped the Oval Office at the White House — feature ornate columns, beamed ceilings, and floor-to-ceiling steel and glass windows. . . The backyard includes a lush lawn and a pool with ocean views.
Work hard kids, and all this can be yours.
[Link: New York Post]
by The Editors on May 20, 2024
On Tuesday May 14, 2024 Burton Snowboard’s CEO John Lacy reportedly sent an email to the employed faithful explaining that because of the “current challenging market,” and some “strong competition,” and “climate change,” oh, and finally “flat participation in snowboarding,” that some heads were going to roll, according to a story on Burlington, Vermont’s NBC 5’s website.
But it’s only a “small percentage” of current employees. So whatever. Hard business, hard choices. For not one additional detail, please click the link below.
[Link: My NBC 5]
by The Editors on April 8, 2024
Roscoe Shorey, 42, a snowboard mountaineer who had summited Mount St. Helens 27 times, died on his 28th attempt after a cornice he was standing on gave way while he was creating social media on March 29, 2024, according to a story in The Chronicle.
But the 42-year-old Washougal man, known to friends and family as Rocky, was alone. He was wearing only snowboard boots, synthetic pants and a lightweight long-sleeve shirt. His jacket, cellphone, SOS satellite device and backpack were at the top of the crater where, minutes earlier, he was documenting his summit of the mountain. . . Shorey pulled himself out of the snow and looked up to the top of the crater. He started to climb up the icy, snow-packed, near-vertical interior wall toward the rim. . . He didn’t make it.
After surviving the avalanche, Shorey apparently died while trying to climb back out of the crater. So many lessons to be learned here.
[Link: The Chronicle]
by The Editors on March 14, 2024
George Carpenter, son of Burton Snowboards founders Jake and Donna Carpenter has shared his spine surgery story publically for the first time on Instagram. Here’s what he said:
On July 27th, 2023, I underwent an emergency surgery to remove a benign tumor that was within my spinal cord at the T-4 level. Until a week before this surgery, I had been unaware to the presence of the tumor. And we’ll never know why or how it got there. If I had left the tumor alone, I would have been paralyzed in a matter of months. . . Post-surgery, I was left with incomplete paralysis, with very little sensation and no movement below my nipples. Since then, I have regained some function and sensation. I’m living in Denver with my girlfriend Jamie and doing intensive rehab at Craig hospital, one of the best spinal cord injury facilities in the world. . . While I tend to deal with hardships privately, at this point it feels good to share. Much love!
For the rest of the story and continuing updates please check George’s posts on Caring Bridge.
[Link: Instagram.com]
by The Editors on February 26, 2024
Former TransWorld Snowboarding Magazine Editor Eric Blehm’s deeply researched, insightful, and heartfelt biography of snowboarding legend Craig Kelly, The Darkest White, is now available where ever you buy books. And, of course, you should buy it right now.
The Darkest White is the story of Craig Kelly’s life, a heartbreaking but extraordinary and inspiring odyssey of a latchkey kid whose athletic prowess and innovations would revolutionize winter sports, take him around the globe, and push him into ever more extreme environments that would ultimately take his life. It is also a definitive, immersive account of snowboarding and the cultural movement that exploded around it, growing the sport from minor Gen X cult hobby to Olympic centerpiece and a billion-dollar business full of feuds and rivalries.
Trust us. No matter how well you think you knew Craig Kelly and his story, you will learn something in The Darkest White. If you’re in San Diego, California this weekend Eric will be appearing at the Barnes & Noble Bookstore in Encinitas at 6 PM on Friday, March 1, 2024 to discuss Craig’s life, his legacy, and to sign some books. For more info click here and to get the book sent straight to your house, click here.
[Link: EricBlehm.com]
by The Editors on February 22, 2024
We wondered what plans Jamie Slater aka Athentic Brands Group had for Quiksilver, Billabong, et. al. when he purchased the Boardrider Group back on September 1, 2023, so we’re not surprised to see him begin selling it off in little pieces to whomever is interested. The first piece of Boardriders is reportedly going to French group Beaunamoir, according to a story on Fashion Network. The company, which owns a load of fashion brands you’ve likely never heard of, has reportedly “entered into exclusive negotiations . . . to buy the Western European activities of the Boardriders Group made up of Quiksilver, Billabong, Roxy, DC Shoes, Element and RVCA.”
Roland Beaumanoir, the group’s CEO, believes that this takeover “would develop the Beaumanoir Group’s expertise in the lifestyle segment, which is doing well. The Boardriders brands are emblematic and offer a lifestyle that is both relaxed and driven by a passion for outdoor sports. We would therefore be delighted to take on the challenge of promoting these brands on the European market.” Details of the countries covered by the agreement have not yet been released.
Brands are brands and apparently they have value long after they’ve died. If Jamie knows anything, it’s Zombie brands. So we’re going to just trust him to do the right thing for his wallet.
[Link: Fashion Network]
by The Editors on February 12, 2024
It’s not often that a rad, little resort in Vermont makes the pages of The New Yorker Magazine, especially in a story featuring hundreds of millions in potentially mishandled funds. But that’s exactly the position Jay Peak and former resort manager Bill Stenger are in this month with a story titled “The Rural Ski Slope Caught Up in an International Scam,” by Sheelah Kolhatkare.
The crux of the story revolves around how Stenger and a business partner raised money for development at the resort and what they actually did with the money they raised. Here’s the how:
He [Stenger] raised money using the EB-5 visa program, which aimed to channel foreign investments into businesses that created jobs for Americans, especially in rural or economically depressed parts of the country. For five hundred thousand dollars (the amount has since risen to nine hundred thousand), foreign investors and their families became eligible for green cards, so long as that money succeeded in creating at least ten jobs.
As for what they did with all the money, you’ll have to read the story. In the end, it goes to show that running a resort isn’t always about keeping the snow guns blowing and the cats repaired. There is much, much, more involved. And sometimes it even a little prison time. Click the link for the rest of the story.
[Link: The New Yorker]
by The Editors on January 24, 2024
There’s nothing we love more than scrolling social feeds for hours looking for crazy videos from famous people that we can repost with a clever caption. Take this video for instance. It features amazing footage of something really crazy. It will blow your mind when you see it. And then send you out on an hours long scroll through the same stuff we’ve been looking at. For more crazy videos from action sports super stars, please click the link.
[Link: Hot Action Videos]
by The Editors on January 10, 2024
Now that the sun has set over the Sierra, the press conference is over, and releases have gone out, here is the official word on the day:
At around 9:30 AM on Janaury 10, 2024 four Palisades Tahoe guests were involved in an avalanche in the “GS gully area, to the skier’s right of the KT-22.” One skier, Kenneth Kidd, 66, of Truckee and Point Reyes, California died. Another was injured, and two others were able to get free of the snow with no serious injuries. No one is currently reported missing.
According to the resort the “cause of the avalanche is under investigation.” In other words, the resort is attempting to figure out how their avalanche mitigation measures failed to recognize the potential dangers on a slope that in hindsight was totally unstable.
This is not the first time the Palisades Tahoe has had an avalanche event or issues with avalanche control.
On March 3, 2018 five guests were buried in an avalanche near the Olympic Lady lift.
In 2017 the resort was fined $20,000 after a ski patroler died in an explosion during avalanche control on January 24.
On December 25, 2008 a skier was killed in avalanche in the Red Dog area of the resort.
