“While laptops and cell phones engulf and eliminate most downtime, nothing ups the ante like having tattoo artists on a trip. Austin Hodges had the idea to use the song ‘Rose Tattoo’ by Dropkick Murphys in an edit and Monster’s Hell Week was largely based around the energy in that song. Here, Ståle Sandbech films Sage getting his rose tattoo.” Photo: Josh Bishop Along with filming a few clips for K2 Snow-boarding’s “Landscape” video, Sage went to the second stop of the NST at Baldface Lodge, BC, where he qualified to ride in the last stop of the Tour in the Alaskan backcountry. After being knocked out by Torstein Horgmo in the quarterfinals, Sage kept his energy high. He kept traveling, went Rambo at Monster Hell Week in Europe, bopped around to various community events in the States, took a powder trip to Chile, and recently rode at the Stomp-ing Grounds Park in Switzerland. Despite all that, Sage almost sheepishly describes his re-cent roll as a rather slow one. As if he hasn’t earned the right to a slower year—as if such a schedule could be considered slow. But that’s Sage for you—forever setting the bar a few fin-gers higher. He continually reaches what most would consider admirable peaks, yet it seems that Sage sees them simply as another lap in the park, one serviced by a high-speed lift that nearly never stops spinning. “Snowboarding is the best thing and I’ve been through hell and back with it, mentally and physically,” Sage says. “All the accolades along the way were awesome and I worked so hard for them. But I still have some more goals that I want to do in the next five years. I’m so excited to see where it’s going and where it leads. “This year I was honest with my sponsors and myself. I knew I’d go to Natural Selection but in between that I told them I’d just ride. I didn’t want to put out a part this year. I just wanted to snowboard. It was so sick. It brought me back and helped me realize that I’ve grown as a person, just being honest with myself and saying when I need a break. Now I’m taking it day by day, and I truly feel the energy like when I was 16 and just coming onto the scene. I’m so excited to get out with everyone and ride and film. I let my batteries recharge. Now I’m ready to go again.” In classic amiable fashion Sage keeps his vision of what’s to come joyously vague. This break—if we can really call it that—was some-thing like the eye of a storm. The build before the drop. Truth be told, he’s rearing to be back in go mode. “On a boat in Lake Geneva after seven days of riding during Monster’s Hell Week. Twenty years ago, team trips blended camaraderie, debauchery and innovation, creating equally compelling stories as the articles and segments they produced. Hell Week was an acknowledgement of those times, and very few athletes ride and embrace the culture with Sage’s energy. If the definition of a leader is bringing people together, no one leads like Sage.” Photo: Josh Bishop 052 THE SNOWBOARDER’S JOURNAL
The Snowboarder's Journal The Snowboarder's Journal 20.3: Page 52
