I’VE BEEN THROUGH HELL AND BACK WITH IT, MENTALLY AND PHYSICALLY “We got skunked on trips, didn’t have much footy, I wasn’t competing anymore…” Sage says, “but I had so much fun, because we were getting back to what we got into this sport and this lifestyle for in the first place, which is snowboarding with your friends. Both routes are cool. If you’re going to buckle down for four years for the Olympics, you’ve got to go in with that driven mentality, but you can’t exert yourself for that long and expect your mind and body to just be going green light af-ter green light.” Upon feeling properly refueled and rein-vigorated, Sage came out swinging in boundary-breaking backcountry films such as Joy (2019) and Halcyon (2020), with his role in the latter earning him Snowboarder Magazine ’s Rider of the Year award. The videos showcase an abso-lute onslaught from Sage, who threw down on freshly found features and classic kickers alike— often building the latter larger than many of the professionals who first pioneered the gaps. Presenting just as much poise riding powder as he did icy park jumps in the Olympics nearly a decade prior, in January 2022 Sage blended his backcountry prowess with his honed ability to perform under the pressure of judged runs to win the Natural Selection Tour in Jackson Hole, WY. The 29-year-old’s competition dur-ing the first leg of the event included Travis Rice, creator of the Natural Selection Tour and arguably the greatest backcountry snowboard-er of all time, thus demonstrating that no mat-ter the terrain, Sage is one of the best to ever do it—so long as he remembers to brake when his body says red light. SAGE KOTSENBURG 051
The Snowboarder's Journal The Snowboarder's Journal 20.3: Page 51
