COVER “On a late-December day, I rolled up to Mt. Baker Ski Area, WA, for a mellow morning. The riding was good, not great—a very cold December had left us with a rare buried crust underneath 6 inches to a foot of fresh powder. Around 10 a.m. I ran into Zoë Vernon and Hans Mindnich and after a couple of laps, we decided to go for a little hike. Upon reaching the zone, it looked a lot different than normal—usually, this is a collection of pillow stacks, but on this day, it had turned into spines with very firm runnels. Still, Hans was down to give it a go. I set up the overhead angle, handed it off to Zoë, then framed up a side angle as well. Zoë nailed the timing, Hans hung on for the ride, and we walked away with the straight-down perspective of the moment just before things get hectic.” Photo: Zoë Vernon/Colin Wiseman UP TOP 01 “At the end of a long day snowmobiling on the last day of our trip to Mt. Baker, WA, our crew dug deep into our energy reserves to put together this hip. The clouds shut us down the second we finished the build. Most of the squad peeled out, but Matt Wainhouse, Blair Habenicht, and I read the weather. It looked like the sun would drop below the clouds and pop for the last 15 minutes of the day. We rolled the dice and stayed. Matt’s first baby was due later that week, so he was extra hungry to shred. After two hours of talking shit and snacking, we were rewarded with a memorable sunset and as many hits as possible during that short window. Staying in the alpine past sundown isn’t for everyone, and rightfully so—sledding out in the dark is spooky. But I’m so glad Waino and Blair were down because summit sunsets are one of best things in life.” Photo: Sean Kerrick Sullivan 06 02 “After hours on a mellow spring afternoon at Mammoth Mountain, CA, with the crew whipping us up for a big jump in the park. Between the easy access and working with Sam Taxwood, this was one of those rare times when creating a timeless photo came easy.” Photo: Sean Kerrick Sullivan “Dry gear is a must for keeping the shred alive on bitter cold winter days. While on assignment in Valemount, BC, to research and photograph the potential mega resort that’s been planned for several years in the area, I had the heater on full blast after consecutive days of splitboarding and sled shuttles in the surrounding backcountry. Another high-quality day was had, thanks to avoid-ing the dreaded wet-boot, frostbitten-tœs scenario.” Photo: Ryan Creary 03 “Well into the second week of our trip to Valdez, AK, Taylor Godber had eyed up this deeply exposed face. Just like the other objectives Taylor accomplished on this trip, she did it with dialed control and calculated planning. Taylor is no joke; this lady is sweet in nature, but shreds like a sharp sushi knife.” Photo: Chad Chomlack 07 04 “Arthur Longo, frontside 360 just behind our rented house in Lofoten, Norway. It’s a mellow warm-up split mission to get to this couloir. Of course, the best view was behind me with all the fjords and Northern Sea landscape but, hey, what’s important here—Arthur’s pop with a splitboard on this natural tranny or another Norwegian postcard?” Photo: Matt Georges “It was a typical minus-20-degree Minnesota day and Cole Solner was filming for his second video part. Cole has unbelievably smooth style and an unusual bag of tricks, the type of guy that people stop and watch. He usually has some unique trick on his mind and nine times out of 10 times he lands it, like this switch judo. With how smooth he is, sometimes I forget if Cole is goofy or regs. He warmed up with a switch ollie and only a few tries later rode away from this—absolute stomp.” Photo: Billy Perrier 08 05 “The last powder day of the season at Alpental, WA, April 10, 2022. I honestly don’t know much about this guy [sweeping the chairlift seats], but I’ve been riding Alpental for almost 10 years, and he’s always been around. This isn’t an out-of-the-ordinary outfit either; a trench coat, leather outback hat and some sort of water shœs, and he’s all set for the mountain. Thanks to him and a few others, Alpy actually opened on time this day and we rode deep, cold storm snow in mid-April.” Photo: Josh Pœhlein “What if you spent your life surfing and capturing waves and water all over the world, then suddenly two Swiss guys strapped you to a splitboard, for the first time ever, in Chamonix of all places? Well, our boy Morgan Maassen took it like a champ and made it all the way up to the Argentière Glacier last April on his first splitboard mission with Nicholas Wolken, Alex Weller, me, and a few other friends. Hats off to you, sunshine.” Photo: Aaron Schwartz 09 “Even on an icy day in Laax, Switzerland, you can find some freshies in the right locations. Simon Gschaider going for a big backside turn in one of those pockets.” Photo: Christoph Johann
The Snowboarder's Journal The Snowboarder's Journal 20.2: Page 15
