Chainsaw Productions’Shaun Palmer documentary The Miserable Champion is finally available on DVD and shipping, according to a story on Pinkbike.com.
The Miserable Champion is a shocking portrait of one of the most notorious athletes of all-time, action sports’ hero Shaun Palmer. 7 Sports, 7 Times World Champion, 6 X-Games Gold, 38 Elite Victories, 117 Tour Podiums and ESPY 2006 “Action Sports Athlete of the Year”. USA Today asks the question “Is This The World’s Greatest Athlete?”
This episode without a doubt will lure you in and make you smile as we tackle our first build of the season combining Abel fly reels and Signal snowboards for the ultimate catch and release adventure on the Mt. Hood glacier with pro snowboarder Kazu Kokubo and Yusaku Horii!
This also marks the beginning of a new partnership between Signal Snowboards and the Network A Youtube channel. For more on that, follow the jump. [click to continue…]
Over the weekend a photo got out that allegedly shows a banner for the 2013 US Open Snowboard at Vail, Colorado. It was posted on the AngrySnowboarder.com site, then reposted on Yobeat.com.
Now, Burton has officially released the information. “Burton Snowboards and Vail Mountain officially announced today that the Burton US Open Snowboarding Championships is moving to Vail, Colorado starting in 2013. The 31st edition of the US Open will take place at Vail’s Golden Peak from February 25 – March 2, 2013.”
Here’s what Jake has to say about it:
First off, I just want to thank Stratton Mountain in Vermont where the US Open took place for so long,” said Jake. “Stratton not only hosted the Open for 27 years, but also played a pivotal role in making resort riding a reality. And as we look to the future progression of the US Open, I feel that Vail offers us the ideal venue to host the event. Vail is an incredible mountain and has been my snowboarding home-away-from-home for over 20 years. I have no doubt that the US Open at Vail will only grow in its legacy as the premier rider-driven event in the world.”
Moving the Open to Vail kind of makes it just another contest and rips the whole heritage thing out by the roots, but changes have to be made sometime and it might as well be now. Have to admit we’re not going to miss that cross country flight. Follow the jump for the official word. [click to continue…]
A 28-year-old snowboarder from Sydney, Australia died at New South Wales Thredbo Resort on Friday, July 27, 2012 after slamming into a tree, according to a story in the Canberra Times.
The Sydney man suffered ‘‘massive internal injuries’’ and died almost instantly after hitting a tree about 11.30am on Thredbo’s Supertrail run, police say. . . He was treated by a number of off-duty doctors and the Thredbo Ski Patrol also responded. . . But the man was dead before he arrived at the Thredbo medical centre.
The SnowSports Industries America released their participation numbers from the 2011-2012 winter season and as you might imagine (given last season’s dismal snowfall) and aside from snowshoeing and Telemarking everything was down.
Overall, snow sports participation fell from 21M to 19.8M. An additional 8.8M people said they considered themselves skiers or snowboarders, but have not participated in the last two seasons, most often due to time constraints. Alpine ski participation fell 11% to 10.2M, snowboarding participation declined 8% to 7.6M and cross country skiing participation fell 5% to 4.3M participants.
We’re guessing splitboarding would have been up as well if it had been tracked. When financial times are tough, we would expect more people to be taking to the backcountry and skipping the $100 a day lift tickets. Follow the jump for the official word from SIA. [click to continue…]
Teton Gravity Research promises this will be the absolute last trailer for the Jeremy Jones feature film Further. If you didn’t know already, here’s what it’s about:
Further will explore some of the world’s most remote terrain while continuing Jones’ mission to camp deep in the backcountry and on the summits of unridden lines to access nearly vertical spines and wide open powder fields. Starring: Jeremy Jones, Terje Haakonsen, Ryland Bell, Lucas Debari, Forrest Shearer, Josh Dirksen, Mitch Toelderer, Bibi Pekarek. On Location: Japanese Alps / Atomfjella Mountains, Norway / Karwendel Range, Austria / Wrangell Mountains, Alaska / Sierra Mountains, California
Sounds great to us. for the official word, follows he jump. [click to continue…]
Reno, Nevada based snowboard company Smokin’ has launched a small selection of longboard skateboards, according to a post on their website. Called, Street Slayers, the boards are simply: snowboarding pavement emulation divides.
We consciously approached longboarding with a fresh perspective, giving little regard to traditional design and heritage. We aren’t interested in trying to fit the mold of what other companies offer, we just want to make shapes we love to ride. You won’t see any toes on the nose pintails from us anytime soon; we make snowboarding pavement emulation devices. Our street slayers are tools for making the concrete jungle feel like your home mountain. We wiped the slate clean and implemented radical new design and construction techniques to shake up the way people perceive what is capable standing on 4 wheels.
The boards come in three shapes and sizes: The Sledge hammer, the Black Wood, and the Coughin. If you’re into longboards, click the link for all the details.
A 30-year-old snowboarder has died at Australia’s Mt. Hotham Resort after apparently “smashing into a tree” on Sunday, July 22, 2012, according to a story in the Sydney Morning Herald.
A police spokesman said that the accident happened in Hotham Heights area at about 2.40pm. . . The area is popular with snowboarding and ski enthusiasts. . . The man is believed to have died before ambulance crews arrived at the scene.
Our thoughts are with the man’s family and friends.
Swedish snowboard photographer Daniel Blom is celebrating his 10 years in the action image capturing game with a book titled Drifting Decade.
Drifting Decade, a hardcover 240 page book portraying some of the most influential riders of the 21th scenery, on and off the mountain, mixes documentary style images with crisp action and snapshots. This book presents the full spectrum of this subculture’s ramifications including big mountain lines in Alaska, stadium contests in Germany to urban riding in Finland.
The book ships out at the end of September. But you can pre-order a signed copy now by signing up on the website. Looks like it’s going to be a good book. Especially for those who prefer pictures over words.
As a little reminder from Boardworld and Olliepop Films, if it’s summer in the Northern Hemisphere, it must be wintering up in the Southern. Well, at least a little bit. It’s always fun watching someone else ride the white ribbon of death, especially in July. Oi Mate.
