Can’t say we haven’t occasionally needed a quick escape from a nutball on a chairlift, but we’ve never gone as far as a skier at Aspen Highlands did on Sunday, January 17, 2106.
A “white man” skier in his late 30s reportedly pushed 28-year-old Seth Beckton, of Aspen, right off the Loge Peak chairlift, according to a story in the Aspen Times.
Beckton said he fell face-first 20 to 25 feet to the ground, but fortunately landed in a “large pocket of snow” and was not injured. . . “I honestly thought I was dead,” Beckton said. “Because I didn’t know where we were (within the lift path). It’s not cool to think anyone would do that.”
It all started with a discussion of riding powder. After a comment Beckton made, the skier said, “Are you making fun of me?” When Beckton said, “Not really — but maybe,” the guy then said, “Do you think this if funny?” and threw Beckton from the chair. . . which is kind of funny now that he mentions it.
Beckon hasn’t yet filed a report and no one really knows who this “white man” skier really is.
Boarding for Breast Cancer (B4BC) is celebrating its 20th Anniversary year with plans to to revive their historic Snowboard + Music Festival, as well as launching a photo exhibition tour of 20 most iconic snowboarding images of all time.
Two decades ago, a small group of young women, leaders in the snowboarding industry, turned the tragic loss of a friend to breast cancer into a positive new movement called Boarding for Breast Cancer (B4BC). Launching with huge snowboarding and music festivals, the events attracted girls and guys in the tribe of winter sports enthusiasts, and shined much needed attention on young women with breast cancer by increasing awareness using a combination of fun, snowboarding, music, and athlete inspiration.
For more info on the upcoming events and how you can get involved, please follow the jump.
For 2016 the Vans Hi-Standard Snow Series World Tour is back with 13 stops in five countries including Korea, China, and France. The Hi-Stadard series is a jam format big air contest in which rotations over 720 are banned completely.
Starting on January 16th at Mount St-Louis, Ontario Canada, riders will compete in a unique exhibition of style and creativity. The Hi-Standard Series will award over $60K in cash prizes and challenge riders to push their imaginations with innovative tricks. The “Van Doren Rail Best Trick” offers cash on the spot for the most inventive maneuvers. Vans will also reward and name an MVP, a Most Improved Rider and a Worst Bail for each stop of the tour. With nothing beyond a 720 allowed, only the most creative competitors will be considered for the billing.
For all the details (including all the dates and places), please follow the jump.
Matt Cummins has been on the snow scene forever. He’s had a pro model longer than most pros have been alive (25 years with the Mervin crew):
He has used this opportunity to continually push snowboard designs from the earliest skate influenced twin tip MC Kink to today’s powder hungry Nootka. His designs, priorities and style forever changed the sport and paved the way for generations of pros. We are proud to celebrate Matt’s 25 years with Mervin Manufacturing and the Lib Tech brand. This video is just a taste of the legacy of Matt and the Cummins family!
Just press play and see it all for yourself. If you’d like to see what Jamie Lynn has to say about Matt, follow the jump. [click to continue…]
Uri Tours, a company specializing in Democratic People’s Republic of Korea vacations, has a great snowboard trip coming up the week of January 9-16, 2016. It’s closed now, but if we’d known a little earlier we could have hit up North Korea’s Masik Pass resort with “Terje Håkonsen, Dan “Danimals” Liedahl and “Mike Rav” Ravels.”
Yes, ya heard it! Tear it up with your favorite riders, get some tips, see some stunts, and mix it up with locals all against the backdrop of North Korea, an adventure in itself. Not only will we be delivering to you a chance of a lifetime to meet a few of the best snowboarders who have ever lived, we’ll be transporting you in style from Pyongyang straight to Masik Pass in an MI-17 chopper. Seats in the chopper are limited, which means we have to cap the trip at 15 people – so book early!
The trip was planned by Uri Tours in cooperation with Snowboarder Magazine, so maybe it will be so popular that they’ll do another one and we’ll all get another chance to snowboard the world’s most backward, closed off, oppressively draconian dictatorship. (Which reminds us, if you haven’t read Adam Johnson’s The Orphan Master’s Son, you really should.)
Chris Brunkhart with Gamma Function co-conspirators Zach Egge and Alex Bacon at Brunkhart’s September 30, 2010 AR4T Gallery opening for How Many Dreams In The Dark in Laguna Beach, California.
Snowboarding lost one of its most iconographic image makers on January 2, 2016 with Chris Brunkhart’s death from cancer. He was 47.
To Chris Brunkhart, whose bravery far outshone the most daredevil of snowboard stuntmen, and whose talent and passion remain as vast as the Western night sky; we love you my brother.
Newell Rubbermaid, a company that sounds more like a fetish doll manufacturer than a consumer brands company, has just purchased K2 and Ride Snowboard’s parent company Jarden today (December 14, 2015) in a deal worth more than $15 billion according to a story on Forbes.com.
The deal will create a combined firm with $16 billion in annual revenue, owning brands ranging from Sharpie, Paper Mate and Graco strollers to Coleman, Sunbeam, Oster and Marmot. . . . Jarden shareholders will receive $21 a share in cash and 0.862 shares of Newell Rubbermaid. Combining Jarden with Newell Rubbermaid will fund the deal with cash on hand and new debt, levering itself to 3.0 to 3.5 times, but maintaining investment grade credit ratings. The acquisition is forecast to immediately bolster Newell’s earnings per share by double digits when it closes, expected in mid-2016.
Those who love corporate snowboarding should take this as a cue to buy more K2 and Ride products as soon as possible. Maybe even for Christmas.
If riding Europe is something you dream of then Stefan Spiegel and Lana Bragina have the perfect map for you. It’s a huge wall hanger than features every resort in the Alps on one, big, data filled surface. And right now you can get it for $70. Click the link.
It’s been decades since Oakley has designed a pair of sunglasses that a skateboarder would wear. Their Frogskins were about it and they were released in 1985. Now, thanks to some input from skateboarders Eric Koston, Sean Malto, Curran Caples and skate photog Atiba Jefferson Oakley has a pretty smooth set of shades that not only look good, but come with some needed function for anyone who has ever clipped their glasses over the neck of their T-shirt. They’re called the Oakley Latch.
“It was just amazing to team up with three skate legends and see this frame come to life,” said Jefferson. “We collaborated with the Oakley design team on all elements – from frame shape to logo placement – to develop a truly signature product that I know we’re all really proud of.”
The “latch” is located behind the hinge on each side of the glasses and allows the glasses to be locked on to the neck of a T-shirt. We had a little trouble latching the shades to the shirt (it often took two hands), but once the latch is attached our days of spilling our sunglasses onto the street were over.
The Latch retails starting at $130 and can be purchased online at Oakley. For the official word from Oakley, follow the jump.
For 2016 the Vans Hi-Standard Snow Series World Tour is back with 13 stops in five countries including Korea, China, and France. The Hi-Stadard series is a jam format big air contest in which rotations over 720 are banned completely.
Chris Brunkhart with Gamma Function co-conspirators Zach Egge and Alex Bacon at Brunkhart’s September 30, 2010 AR4T Gallery opening for 
Newell Rubbermaid, a company that sounds more like a fetish doll manufacturer than a consumer brands company, has just purchased K2 and Ride Snowboard’s parent company Jarden today (December 14, 2015) in a deal worth more than $15 billion according to a story on 
