TOP TO BOTTOM Mikey and Bryan have a brotherly relationship, as seen here with Bryan trying to smash Mikey’s head with a rock. Every time they get together there’s this years-spanning wrestling match that they get into, and this is just another chapter of it. Mikey and Bryan at the back of Bryan’s Chevy, which he’s very proud of. This was the last day of the trip at Mount Cain. The mountain was closed because they’re only open on weekends and run by volunteers, but we called and told them what we were doing and who we were with, and they let us come. Funnily, Mikey has just been awarded a wild card to the Bells Beach World Surf League event in Australia. While every other surfer planning on surfing in the event is currently staying near Bells doing mock heats and working with coaches, Mikey’s on a snowboard trip in the middle of nowhere getting tips from Red Gerard on how to approach jumps better, surfing in 40-degree water, and catching a fish roughly every 35 min-utes. Mikey’s eagerness to send it in the snow rubs off on the guys in the water, and with no second-guessing Mikey has the whole crew paddling out to a well-known heavy slab. The wave is sketchy on its best days, and it’s nowhere near its best. The problem with paddling out with someone like Mikey is his style and ease in hairy situations gives you false hope. While he picks off waves that stay open, gracefully racing through sections, everybody else is mostly exploring underwater rocks in the impact zone. After that first session, we find a little spot with more manageable sets coming through and trade off waves. Halfway through the trip, Travis makes contact and comes to the lodge. His few extra days in Alaska have proven to be productive. Along with Bryan, Austen and Red, it’s cool to see the relationship they have and where their paths currently cross in their careers. In theory, they all have the same job, professional snowboarder. You’d think maybe things here could get a little dicey—a small lodge with four pro-athlete egos and agendas, but it’s the exact opposite. There seems to be almost no competition between them at all, and so much mutual respect for what the others are doing. Each of their approaches is different , but also com-plimentary. Conversations are open and fun. Talks range from video projects to Olympic cafeteria food to Melvins tracks to road trips in Baja to surfboard design to NFTs to Mikey explaining (and showing) the big hunts he’s been going on. Upon Travis’ arrival, the forecast starts to change. I have a feeling that is common when it comes to Travis—he seems to often be in the right place at the right time. But some big calls must be made, the biggest one being: Where do we go? Staying at the lodge and depending fully on the heli seems like stacking the cards against ourselves. We’ve heard Vancou-ver Island has a little T-bar operation up north called Mount Cain, a com-munity hill that has a bit of a cult following. We think it could be our best bet. We take a vote and leave the lodge before getting stuck by the incom-ing storm. We’ll be able to ride midweek via snowmobile. It’s dumping. We’re leaving with a solid plan. RIGHT PAGE, CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT We almost couldn’t get up the road to Mount Cain. Those are Jake’s tracks, and they were the first tracks. Travis didn’t come with us, there’s no cell service, but he said he’d meet us. He borrowed a local photographer’s truck, didn’t have any weight, didn’t have any chains. The photographer was worried, but we told him if anyone is good for it, it’s Travis. When he came up the road later in the day it was slushier, and he got the truck stuck. While he was figur-ing it out another local drove by and asked him if he wanted a ride. Then that dude got stuck. Travis snowboarded down to the first truck, got it unstuck and then drove off. Can you imagine what it must’ve been like for that random guy to have Travis Rice in his truck for like four minutes? Austen and Travis joking around in the lot of the heli operation. Austen looks stoked, Travis appears a little more concerned. Bryan Fox, backside 360. 088 THE SNOWBOARDER’S JOURNAL
The Snowboarder's Journal The Snowboarder's Journal 20.3: Page 88
