Moonlight Powdersurfing at the Beavis!

Beaver Mountain – First Descent – Powdersurfing in the moonlight


I nailed the first descent down the backside of the beavis on a powdersurf last night under the almost full moon. Pretty epic conditions and super fun. I was up night riding with all the Jensen boys (my dad, brothers, and nephews) at beaver mountain and we were milking cotton tail (in the dark) for pow slashers and butters. It was pretty fun- my nephews are getting really good at shredding and they kept up well. I was able to milk a backside run before it got totally dark. I walked out the spring road and dropped the mini pillow sector. It was hella good- The beavis is at the stage where there are still features to jump off of due to a low tide. It was surprisingly good although it took me a while to hitch hike back.

At the end of the night I milked one more lap and dropped the same run on my powsurf. Definitely worth the 10 dollar ticket.
The Jensen gang- we will crush you.
Left to right: Jeremy, Brennan, Matt, Jordan, Jake, Dennis, Ben, and Christian.
My dad rips. He has been shredding longer than I have (and longer than you too). He hasn’t touched his skis in 20+ years.


As far as I know, I nailed the first descent of the Beav on a snowskate (10 or so years ago), first descent of Beaver’s backside on a snowskate, first bindingless (noboard) descent of the backside (11 years ago), first descent of the Beav’s frontside on a powdersurf board and first backside on the powsurf. ..not bad considering bindingless boards are not allowed on the mountain. Hopefully one day they will reconsider.

Moonlight Powdersurfing at the Beavis!

Beaver Mountain – First Descent – Powdersurfing in the moonlight


I nailed the first descent down the backside of the beavis on a powdersurf last night under the almost full moon. Pretty epic conditions and super fun. I was up night riding with all the Jensen boys (my dad, brothers, and nephews) at beaver mountain and we were milking cotton tail (in the dark) for pow slashers and butters. It was pretty fun- my nephews are getting really good at shredding and they kept up well. I was able to milk a backside run before it got totally dark. I walked out the spring road and dropped the mini pillow sector. It was hella good- The beavis is at the stage where there are still features to jump off of due to a low tide. It was surprisingly good although it took me a while to hitch hike back.

At the end of the night I milked one more lap and dropped the same run on my powsurf. Definitely worth the 10 dollar ticket.
The Jensen gang- we will crush you.
Left to right: Jeremy, Brennan, Matt, Jordan, Jake, Dennis, Ben, and Christian.
My dad rips. He has been shredding longer than I have (and longer than you too). He hasn’t touched his skis in 20+ years.


As far as I know, I nailed the first descent of the Beav on a snowskate (10 or so years ago), first descent of Beaver’s backside on a snowskate, first bindingless (noboard) descent of the backside (11 years ago), first descent of the Beav’s frontside on a powdersurf board and first backside on the powsurf. ..not bad considering bindingless boards are not allowed on the mountain. Hopefully one day they will reconsider.

7 feet in 7 days….

I finally dropped in on the Season Pass to Snowbird. I think I already got my money’s worth these past 3 days.

Smellie and I showed up saturday morning to 2 feet or more of the super light and dry Utah pow. Such a sick day. Met up with a bunch of the ol homies …. it felt like the first day of school- seeing all the familiar faces in their new gear…. cute.
Dave and I tore it up for a couple runs before meeting up with some friends from Jackson. Willie McMillon, Mark Carter, Nic Drago, John Makens, Kurt Wastell, Travis Rice, Circe Wallace……. and more. It was pretty ill riding with such a sick crew of snowboard legends. We sprocked our way from the “house” to Daltons hitting every booter and drop in sight. It’s not always rad being the 1oth dude off of a hit but it was worth it riding with these dudes. We spun a couple laps with those guys and decided to move on to a smaller crew of 2 or 3 to maximize pow slashing. Before that Travis hopped on the lift with us to talk “powdersurf”. I was a little thrown off guard sitting on the lift next to the greatest shredder on earth but I managed to not just drool all over myself and I got his contact info to get him some boards. I hooked up with him 2 days later after the comp was over and well…. lets just say Travis Rice is on the Grassroots Powdersurf R&D team… how $#@&ing sick is that?
Saturday was epic- so sunday was next. It dumped all night (another 2 feet) and the canyon road was closed due to a couple of avalanches that hit the road. Ham and I waited in line for an hour or so as the line finally started moving. We were about 30 cars back when they shut it down again. Soooooo bummed. An avalanche had caught and carried 3 Alta patrollers so they shut the canyon down again. Rather than sit in our car for another 2 hours we scoped some areas to ride powdersurfs up above the mansions in the lower canyon.
This was Ham’s first time on the powsurf and the conditions were pretty much 5 inches of dust on bumpy crust. Needless to say Ham kind of struggled and so did I- but it was pretty damn fun anyways. We shredded til we saw the road open back up and away we rolled.

Hamgod with Powdersurf – ready to get some.
Check the Video at the bottom of the post for some weak action!

7 feet in 7 days….

I finally dropped in on the Season Pass to Snowbird. I think I already got my money’s worth these past 3 days.

Smellie and I showed up saturday morning to 2 feet or more of the super light and dry Utah pow. Such a sick day. Met up with a bunch of the ol homies …. it felt like the first day of school- seeing all the familiar faces in their new gear…. cute.
Dave and I tore it up for a couple runs before meeting up with some friends from Jackson. Willie McMillon, Mark Carter, Nic Drago, John Makens, Kurt Wastell, Travis Rice, Circe Wallace……. and more. It was pretty ill riding with such a sick crew of snowboard legends. We sprocked our way from the “house” to Daltons hitting every booter and drop in sight. It’s not always rad being the 1oth dude off of a hit but it was worth it riding with these dudes. We spun a couple laps with those guys and decided to move on to a smaller crew of 2 or 3 to maximize pow slashing. Before that Travis hopped on the lift with us to talk “powdersurf”. I was a little thrown off guard sitting on the lift next to the greatest shredder on earth but I managed to not just drool all over myself and I got his contact info to get him some boards. I hooked up with him 2 days later after the comp was over and well…. lets just say Travis Rice is on the Grassroots Powdersurf R&D team… how $#@&ing sick is that?
Saturday was epic- so sunday was next. It dumped all night (another 2 feet) and the canyon road was closed due to a couple of avalanches that hit the road. Ham and I waited in line for an hour or so as the line finally started moving. We were about 30 cars back when they shut it down again. Soooooo bummed. An avalanche had caught and carried 3 Alta patrollers so they shut the canyon down again. Rather than sit in our car for another 2 hours we scoped some areas to ride powdersurfs up above the mansions in the lower canyon.
This was Ham’s first time on the powsurf and the conditions were pretty much 5 inches of dust on bumpy crust. Needless to say Ham kind of struggled and so did I- but it was pretty damn fun anyways. We shredded til we saw the road open back up and away we rolled.

Hamgod with Powdersurf – ready to get some.
Check the Video at the bottom of the post for some weak action!

Jackson Hole Snowboarder Mag Release Party

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I am not going to disclose the location here cause it is too sacred. We will just say it’s somewhere in Idaho or Wyoming or something. Dunker and I slayed it up here for 2 days. The Avy danger was super high so we kept it chill on the powsurfs. Found some really fun lines. One in particular was loaded with mini kickers- so much fun on the powdersurf boards. We were passing over fresh 4 foot slides and glide cracks. It was pretty nerve racking and it kept us humble on our line choices.
There is so much potential up here and never a skier or snowboarder in sight. I have seen some of my favorite zones raped by “professional” film crews in the snowboard and ski industry. They hype it up and disclose the location to da masses (did I just say dumbasses?!) and I am over that crap. Thanks a lot mormon mafia (you know who you are) – you suck. Anyways… I am not going to let that happen to this zone.

BONUS!
I met snowboard artist (and legend) Mike Parillo at the Mag Release party. I was a little bit star struck I must admit. This guy’s artwork has had a huge influence on me throughout the years. It was so rad to see his OG paintings in their glory. Whenever I am painting my powsurfers I am thinking about this guys work. My kindergarten art doesn’t touch what this guy does. I really want to get involved with him in the future if things work out.
 

Mike Parillo – Original artwork for Travis Rice’s Pro Models
Mike Parillo and Travis Rice’s Studio for Asymbol


 Parillo doing what he does.
Dunker needed to make a huge print for an up coming art show. This was his first test print. Pretty amazing.
This is a reproduction of the Craig Kelly Tribute mural. Mike said the original had been vandalized so this was the reproduced inkjet print. 3×5 feet or so.
Brother Ali on the mic!!! This show was amazing- such a rad vibe.
 
Not only did I get to chill with Mike Parillo but Travis Rice showed up and kicked it for an hour or so. Travis is the greatest snowboarder in the world…. do I need to say more?
Mike and Travis seemed pretty stoked on the Powdersurf boards. I am working on a couple to send up their way. Hopefully they can provide some R&D and maybe some connections in the industry… Most of all- I want Parillo to paint one.. That dude has unreal skills.
Brother Ali was super rad. He freestyled back in forth with Justin Timberlake (yes, the backstreet boy) and it was insane!
I can’t wait to back and ride the Village when it starts dumping. Jackson is always a good time.

Milking it in January – Getting out of the toxic depression cloud

It hasn’t snowed for weeks- the resort here has about a 25 inch base and our backcountry zones are sitting at about 45 inches of base- pretty poor for the middle of January. I have been getting out as often as I would otherwise and milking what snow we do have. Just getting out of the giant shit cloud created by pollution and inversion is worth the trip. It has actually been really fun. The powsurfing has been epic and opens up a whole new world of possibilities.

This weekend I tested out my ptex deck. It lasted a few drops and 360 shovit attempts and finally blew up on a kickflip. The bond between the ink and the mylar failed and the whole sheet came flying off. I was bummed – but the ink tranfered itself onto the ptex and was left mostly intact. So I am putting back on the deck and it should actually work out fine in the long run. I have to figure out a different solution for the base graphics.
I tested out 4 new powdersurf boards this weekend with pretty good results. The foamy was pretty good but the snow was a little variable so it was tough to make a good judgement on performance. The “fillet” handled pretty sweet. The flex made it carve like a snowboard and the skinnier shape actually worked great in the variable snow conditions. The 4ply skate deck was bomber but a little heavier than I would prefer. I stomped a few bs180s and kickflips on it that made my day. We ran some mini-golf lines and got some goods above the campground that were fun. The next day I did a solo trip and stuck some good surf shots on jumps, drops and picnic tables.

Powdersurf Construction – Manville, Utah

WELCOME TO MANVILLE – This is where the Powdersurf Board magic happens.

Manville, Utah- This is where many good things are happening right now. Shapes are designed and created, construction methods are tested, there is blood, sweat and tears flowing here on almost a daily basis (despite sub zero temperatures).
The shark is born. November 2009 – Manville, USA
Literally hours of hand sanding…. makes for major sawdust boogers.

Craig working on some new experimental construction. Super strength and alien lightness.

 Checking the rocker on the new PowSkate Model.

There is really only enough room in here for me and a few powdersurf boards.

My fingers are bleeding by the time I get this stuff cutout. Worth it? Yes.

Grassroots Powdersurfing R&D

Its official – I am going to try to make Grassroots Powdersurfing Company a reality. Time to make the dreams happen- before some big company rips it off.

After 3 and a half years of research and development I think I am ready to do this. We have been dialing in the best shapes for a variety of different styles of riders and terrain. I think I am really close to the best construction possible (with the materials and tools that I have) but I the experimental models are not about to stop – ever. We will be forever evolving to be the best we can be. Over the past few months making powsurfs has really consumed me. I enjoy the challenge of designing, building, and painting them and I am like a little child at Disneyland when it comes to riding them.

I am going to miss “The Powslasher”. It came off the rack and broke this weekend as I was getting all redneck on my sled. RIP

Behold the “Powdershark” Directional big mountain and deep powder slayer.


 Jeremy – Wanna-be art fag.
This is the board I made for Lance Pitman. I had a hard time letting this beauty go. So sick.


Dave Smellie and I doing a little R&D in Little Cottonwood Canyon. Beautiful day – Sick pow.


Brock Bitton and the board he made this summer. Sick artwork and some good technology went into this one.

Good things are in the works here. Website is being worked on, artwork is coming together and fabrication is moving along for a few custom pieces we need to smooth out the construction process. These babies are gonna be ready for the public real soon.

Powdersurfing saved my sanity – Nov-Dec 2009

Jeremy Jensen, Dave Smellie and Mike Kerkman Powsurfing on early powsurfers.Grassroots Powdersurfing

Jeremy Jensen, Kevin Hornerbrook, and Mike “Cookie” Kerkman getting ready to slash some pow.


The winter season so far has been pretty dismal. It is January 12th and in here in northern Utah we are at about 45% of normal snowpack. This hasn’t stopped me from having a hell of a fun winter. Thanks to the powdersurf boards that I have been making in my garage, the season has been awesome. I have been snowboarding three times so far this year and it was fun- but with limited coverage, high avalanche danger and limited shreddable terrain it kind of puts a limit on the snowboarding potential. So losing the bindings was a great decision to pass the time.
Powdersurfing is so much fun and it honestly makes me feel like a 15 year old kid again. Going out every day and doing tricks that have never been done before just makes you giddy inside. Reminds me of landing my first kickflips on a skateboard 20 years ago. Just riding away with a giant grin and looking around and thinking “holy shit! I’m still on my feet!!”
Powdersurfing excites me because there is so much potential. The freestyle and skatestyle influence can truly be taken advantage of on these boards. Over the past couple of months we have been hitting jumps, dropping cliffs, slashing pow, and riding rails and logs. Pop shovits off cliffs, 360 shovits, kickflips, bigspins, log jams, 180s, cabs, etc…..
So many “first evers” have gone down in past 40 days. Super exciting.
There is so much potential with this sport that I fear it is only a matter of time before someone with money rips off our idea and leaves us in the dust. Our construction process is lengthy and expensive (for us poor folk) so it is tough to mass produce- But i am gonna give it my best shot with the resources I do have.
Being able to take advantage of terrain that would feel mediocre on a snowboard is a huge advantage. So much new terrain opens itself up and you begin to see the mountain in a whole new light.

Very little snow this season has forced us to shred the lower angle grassy fields for the first couple of months of the season. Brandon, Dave, and RC hiking up in the cold smoke.



Did I mention these things slash the pow REALLY well?

Jeremy catching a pop- shovit off a kicker that some skiers had built for us.

Text Color Dave getting some tail.
Jeremy Jensen – 360 shovit



Jeremy Jensen – Testing a couple of new boards.

Storm is always stoked to get out and shred.