While this seemingly never-ending Fall has been fun, snow covered streets are finally making our habit of refreshing Quarter Snacks and Jenkem Mag seem a bit unorthodox. Instead, we found solace refreshing the Dew Tour live stream this weekend, which, in our eyes, initiated Fall's demise for good. From this iconic energy drink induced event (that finally found a new home at Copper) to the Dirksen Derby, the contest season is bringing everyone, regardless of their snowboard background, together. And it's bringing the snow with it. Outside of these courses, riders are still getting after it, so let's get into everything that happened this past week.
Everyone wonders how Mt. Hood keeps snow throughout the summer months. Sure, the enigmatic weather patterns that start around May are part of the equation, but the less talked about reality is that it just gets fucking dumped on in the winter. We speculate that, if climate change was fake, it would be harder to lose snow than retain it. Unfortunately, our speculation is just the remnants of our high hopes for this upcoming summer, so take advantage of the glacier, just as Jed and the slew of cars in the parking lot have. Also be on the lookout out for Bug Out, a quick turnaround part for Jed that highlights this trip to Mt Hood Meadows, among other spots.
Two biiiig contests went down this weekend, yet the two weekends, differentiated by the the various foundations of snowboarding, were symbolic for different reasons. On one end, riders were judged based on their ability to navigate a course, and, on the other end of the spectrum, riders just went fast—very fucking fast at that. Over in Copper, Red Gerard won the 21 person 2-run final as the last rider to drop. Kid is immune to pressure. Chloe Kim is also cut from the same cloth, as she won Women's Superpipe in a fashion that makes us think she never even went two years without strapping into a snowboard. In other news, the Streetstyle was another crowd pleaser, as Seb Toots' uncanny ability to flip off everything in his path hyped the crowd up more than warranted. He should probably join Ayumu Hirano in the pipe, where multiple flips, let alone triple corks, are rightfully applauded. Nate Haust destroyed, per usual, and Luke Winklemann won the contest on his birthday. Great way to spend your 21st. On the women's side, Alex Roland dominated, but, more importantly, Grace Werner and Veda Hallen rode better than women half a decade older. It's only up from here.
At Mt Bachelor, the 14th annual Dirksen Derby went down, and Nils Midnich proved once again that he's fast as fuck. He won with a combined time of 58.39 seconds (32.39 seconds on the green course and 26 seconds on the red course). His victory was followed by Gabe Ferguson in second and Jared Elston in third—a podium we definitely back. Nelly Steinhoff took the womens top spot, followed by Zeia Rose, Rel Freidman, and Desiree Melancon.
Snake Milkers world premiere went down this weekend, on December 18th, at the JHSM Issue 17 Launch Party.
"A low elevation adventure with the Shrub Brothers. With avalanche conditions at extreme danger in the high alpine, these bold explorers take to some unridden terrain that is only accessible from the mighty Snake River. With the many uncertainties that come along with running a 21 mile stretch of whitewater, these riders enlist guidance from the Shrub Brothers, three western men that know a thing or two about thriving in the harsh Wyoming winter environment."
Enough talk about Utah, Colorado, and Oregon. We love the West Coast but other regions deserve love too. That being said, the west coast was not the only part of the world that hosted some iconic events this past weekend. To add to what was arguably the most notable onslaught of events for one weekend, Pat Moore hosted Methodology at Gunstock Mountain and Double Triple Fest went down in central Kyiv. We like to think that Kyiv is a slice of untouched snowboard potential, but with the exposure that setting up a rail jam in the middle of a city creates, we are confident that the city that primed our Google Earthing skills will be overridden with snowboard crews in no time. Let's hope this is just us catastrophizing.
Also, it's good to see Brandon Reis get Method of the Day. Aside from his unmatched backyard shenanigans, his method speaks volumes about his snowboarding. Cheers.
"RUNNING PERENNIAL" Featuring Louif Paradis
Louif Paradis’ patience is derived from a commitment to himself and what he deems rideable and worthwhile. If it doesn’t check his boxes, the wait continues. While we’ve often been taught that perfection is the enemy of the good, for Lou this standard is just what he needs. Often, five days would disappear without a clip, as he looked for the right spot with no hint of urgency. But when everything lines up, the results speak for themselves.
Vans Snow welcomes Severin van der Meer to the team. After his part in Chroma, which he also co produced, this one was a no brainer.
The Nitro crew just dropped a short film, Never Break Crew, where Bryan Fox, Sam Taxwood, Jared Elston, Griffin Siebert, Jeff Richards, Jeremy Jones, Hunter Goulet, and friends took a
two-week road trip through the mountain ranges, deserts, and resort of the south west. 7 minutes of visual evidence as to why you should go on a road trip with your homies.
