SIA Denver – Grassroots Style

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Nicolas Muller and Jeremy Jensen

Grassroots Powdersurfing all over SIA

The Snowsports industry tradeshow is always a hoot. All your favorite super heroes are there, the latest and greatest technology is revealed (usually a re-packaged form of old technology under a new name) and the hype machines are running full steam.  All the big companies fight for attention using whatever gimmicks they can pull…  free beer, half naked chicks, DJs, free swag of all sorts, juggling clowns, …. anything to grab your attention so they can convince you that their company is hot shit or their technology is superior to all the other companies that are making the same product.   We didn’t have anything like that so we did things Grassroots Style.  We showed our product and let it speak for itself.  We are doing our own thing and we have been doing it for 7 years now. Powsurfing is the purest form of “snowboarding” in existence and is the most “free” form of any type of mountain riding.   So what’s not to love about it? I don’t think any snowsports enthusiast could hate on something that so purely defines what it is we are all after when we head out into the mountains.  In our eyes this is more powerful than any side-show gimmick that the mega corporations could ever dream up.

We were fortunate to have good friends who see the beauty in what we do and they believe in our product and what it stands for.  These friends came up huge in helping us show our product at SIA. We were able to showcase boards all around the show.  They were a perfect fit in the Mtn Approach booth, they are the perfect companion for that kit and they looked right at home in the booth that Cory made from old barn wood.  They fit beautifully in Dave Basterrechea’s Cheetah Factory Racing booth- CFR makes the perfect rack to haul your powsurfer around on the back of your snow machine.  Our boards found another home in the “Backcountry Experience” booth that housed many split boards and powder specific snowboards. Powsurfing is of course THE ultimate backcountry experience!

Our goods were looking tight with the Mtn Approach gear

At home in the “Backcountry Experience” Booth

Note to all the companies riding our coattails and copying our stuff- This is our new lawyer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Grassroots was a big hit amongst the legends of snowboarding both young and old.  Shawn Farmer, Terry Kidwell, Nicolas Muller, JJ Thomas, Bjorn Leines, Danny Davis, Johnny Paxton, Lucas Magoon, and the list goes on and on… The most creative minds in snowboarding were naturally drawn in and clearly hyped on what we have created.  Our videos looped on a TV screen in the CFR booth and passers by were able to see the possibilities on these unique looking wooden toys.

Farmers is down

Farmer knows what’s up! The Powderskate Twin is a clear choice for this guy.

Nicolas Muller – Of course the most creative riders in snowboarding are down for powsurfing.

Terry Kidwell is the Godfather of freestyle snowboarding. Hyped to chat with this man!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When JJ isn’t boosting 30 feet out of a super pipe he can be found powsurfing.

Bjorn Leines and Dave Basterechea

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Retailers were hyped, industry legends were hyped, pro snowboarders/skiers/snowmobilers were hyped…. so of course we were hyped that our first real SIA show was a success. After being involved with snowboarding for 25 years it’s easy to get burnt out on an industry that creates so many cliques and fads to try to keep their product fresh in the eyes of the buyer. It feels good to be doing what we love without having to put a spin on our product to sell it to people. The fun and freedom will always speak for itself.

HOMEWARD BOUND!  When the show was over and packed up we were stoked to get the hell out of Denver.  We had left Utah just as 3 feet + of pow had fallen, so we were eager to get back to where the goods were at.  We let the rest of the industry go do their on-snow demos (more like on-man-made-ice demos) at Winterpark and we went home and surfed pow with “the Daves” from Cheetah Factory Racing.  I was stoked to show Dave B some of our backyard goods since he showed us such a good time up in Canada last month.  Both Daves took their first powsurf runs ever and were blown away.  They were both naturals, slaying the steep tree chutes and popping ollies on the fun buttons.  Tall Dave called it the funnest time he’d ever had and the best road trip of his life.  Cheers to that!

Kanika, Dave B, Tall Dave, & Jeremy loving Utah powder.

Dave B crushed it right out the gate.

Tall Dave showing his skateboarding roots!

Breaking all the rules.. Jeremy popping a shuvit on the Powder Shark 140cm

Utah Statesman Article – Grassroots Powdersurfing

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Herald Journal Article on Grassroots Powsurfing Cover Page

Reading the title of this article I was a little estranged. “Local business owner creates extreme sport” seemed like a pretty big claim.  It’s a stretch to put a finger on who “created” powsurfing, or the act of sliding sideways down mountains on boards free from bindings and ropes.  It’s kind of like saying someone invented playing catch, or was the first person to run or skip.  The concept and practice of binding-free snow sliding dates back centuries at the least.  What we at Grassroots have done is create a tool (or toy) to encourage and enable riders to take this form of snow sliding to new levels, incorporating contemporary skate style and more of a true surf style than what we had seen in the past.  We felt that if you were going to ride a bindingless board then it should be a board designed specifically for that task (rather than throwing a pad on a snowboard that is designed and built to be ridden with bindings) and you may as well be able to take full advantage of not having a board strapped onto your feet.  Spin it, flip it, ollie it,.. make the most out of your ride to the bottom.  If that’s what constitutes the creation of a new extreme sport then I guess we’ll wear that hat with pride.

Here’s a link to the article.   http://www.usustatesman.com/local-business-owner-creates-extreme-sport-1.2808749#.USaN5Y5EAso 

 

“Powder Play” Article on Powsurfing Appears in Canada’s National Newspaper

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Globe and Mail Article on Grassroots Powsurfing

Super hyped on getting the call from The Globe & Mail; Canada’s National newspaper.  They had seen the films and heard of this thing called “powsurfing”, and they wanted to know more.  So we dished the beta and donated some photos for the cause. The article included a couple of other companies perspectives and quotes. (powsurfing is sooo hot right now! (sarcasm…well sort of)) Interesting to see how many people are quickly hopping on the bandwagon. It serves as a testament to how much fun this powsurfing thing really is. It was funny to see some people comment on the article and say “that’s just noboarding”, while others could see the clear distinction and difference. The people who get it, obviously get it.. and those who don’t probably never will.

Nice article and an awesome opportunity to give the masses a glimpse into what it is we love to do.  Pretty rad that it came out on the winter solstice as well!

Below is the link to the article online:

Check it  POWDER PLAY – GLOBE AND MAIL December 21st 2012

Boom! Grassroots on the front page of Canada’s National Newspaper

CBC TV Interview and Story on Grassroots Powdersurfing

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CBC TV Interview with Scotty Arnold

Out of nowhere came an email from the Canadian National Television station wanting to do a story on Powsurfing.  They said they couldn’t send a cameraman down to Utah and needed someone in the Whistler area to do the interview.  As luck(?) would have it, Scotty Arnold and I just happened to be in the Whistler area at the time!  I’ve only been to Canada twice in my life and this was a pretty crazy coincidence.  I knew it had to be done so we set aside a day of our trip to do some PR work.

CBC TV with Scotty Arnold

Bob Nixon, Scotty Arnold, and Simon ready for action

Avalanche conditions were high with a fresh couple of feet on top of a deep layer of surface hoar. We weren’t about to take a TV crew deep into the backcountry and put them and ourselves at risk.  We had to settle for some very low angle slopes completely out of harms way.  All the obvious signs of fresh wind slabs breaking everywhere, cracking, collapsing, etc confirmed our decision.  On the approach to a relatively small but steep slope we remotely triggered numerous fresh slides that were a few inches deep, two steps later while crossing a creek the snow cracked loudly, breaking 4 feet deep and sending me into the creek bed below.  One knee and one arm plunged into knee deep icy water. That sealed the deal and we relocated to another zone, very low angle and out of the way of any hang-fire.

CBC TV Interview with Scotty Arnold

The TV crew interviewed myself and Scotty Arnold about the history, the how, and the why.  Really good interviews that kind of ended up butchered in the end, but so goes the mainstream tv world.  The action shots were very mellow due to the sketchy conditions that day. We hiked a couple of short low angle lines and jumped off some small drops for their cameras and called it a day.  Not the most epic day by any means but good for the PR machine. We were just stoked on the opportunity to spread the word about what we love to do and help Grassroots continue to grow.

Luckily we found a couple of little drops out of harms way for the TV crew

Watch the Interview and check the story below:

Interview with Jeremy Jensen about the freedom of powdersurfing:

http://www.cbc.ca/video/watch/News/Canada/BC/ID=2324239337

English Channel Story : “Powder-surfing pioneers seek freedom in a new sport”

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/story/2013/01/09/bc-powder-surfing.html

 

The Powsurf Chronicles Episode 5 – Facefulls of Fun

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Facefulls of fun

The Powsurf Chronicles Episode 5 – Facefulls Of Fun

Kickback, watch the snow ripple and feel the powder blast you in the face.  Here’s a quick episode from an early season day in the Utah Backcountry. Enjoy it… we sure did.

Watch on Vimeo or Youtube

 

Solstice Powsurf Session 2012

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Jeremy Jensen Ollies his Grassroots Powsurfer in the Utah Backcountry.

While some of the world hunkered down to prepare for armageddon, the Grassroots crew headed into the hills to celebrate the solstice the best we know how, by enjoying life to the fullest.  A fresh couple of feet had fallen over the past couple of days and the skies turned blue for us.  The shortest day of the year brings seriously epic light on a bluebird day.. long shadows and cold smoke conditions made this one extra special.

The new Powsurf Compatible Cheetah Racks are absolutely bomber. So hyped on this setup!

Mike Lane, a good friend from back in the day was in town from Santa Cruz.  Lane has been surfing non-stop out there for a few years now and he was back to test his skills on the snow.  Lane slayed the steeps and threw in a few good ollies in the process.

Clack! Mike Lane popping ollies in the Utah duff.

 

Lane with a pow-eating grin.

Powsurf Slash

Lane only had a couple of powsurfing days under his belt but he ripped it like a veteran.  There was no second guessing or hesitation when we hit the steeper slopes, just fearless charging and big smiles at the bottom.  While the snowpack was relatively shallow, there is no complaining about fresh cold smoke on a bluebird day.  We seized the day and made the most of what we had to work with, slashing every slash in sight, and popping every fun button.  We milked every last bit of sunlight and left stoked.   So hyped on a new season of exploring possibilities and celebrating a new take on a familiar past time. Happy Solstice!

Jeremy Jensen lining up a couple of ollies.

Powder 8’s on the sled are always fun.

Park City Backcountry Powsurf Sesh with JJ Thomas, Scotty Arnold, and Jeremy Jensen

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Jeremy Jensen, JJ Thomas, and Scotty Arnold about to surf some powder.

Jeremy Jensen, JJ Thomas, and Scotty Arnold ready for action in the PC neighborhood backcountry

After a few big hammer pow days in the backcountry it was time for a mellow day.  I linked up with Scotty Arnold and JJ Thomas in Park City to check out a rad little surf zone that JJ’s girl had found for us. Beth Anne has a good eye for powsurf zones!  The snow was shallow but we made the most of it and had a killer time slashing the gauntlet for a few runs and seshing the mini catwalk hits.

 

The 6 inch crusty “base” and 5 inches of fluf on top was pretty challenging but that’s all part of the fun of powsurfing.  JJ and I rode the Powder Sluts and Scotty tried out the Bullet 140, a great board for riding shallow pow. We burned a couple quick laps and that pretty much tracked up the skinny guantlet run.  Stoked for that thing to fill in so we can give it a proper slashing another time.

JJ had to roll out and take care of his lady…birthday celebrations the previous night were taking their toll on the poor girl.  She was a trooper, guiding us to the zone and snapping some pics along the way. Big thanks Beth Anne!

Scotty and I poked around for some bumps to pop off of. We found a little catwalk trail that kept us busy for a couple of hours.  Simple pleasures!!

Shuvits were popped, and kickflips were kicked and stomped.

It was so much fun riding with these boys. So rad to see people just pick up powsurfing and start killing it..even in sketchy conditions.  Big smiles and big fun.  Thats what it’s all about.

Kickfliping into shallow tracked up pow is not easy. Somehow I rode away clean on this one.

Scotty finding a deep (relatively) spot!

Turns out JJ snowboards goofy footed and powsurfs regular footed. The man has skills!

Scotty popped a big ollie and stomped a solid pop shuv after just a few tries.  The kickflip was next and he was determined to ride out clean.  He landed bolts numerous times and rode a couple out for a few feet.  Landing on ice and dirt is not easy.  The skills and determination that this guy has are gonna continue to blow minds for years in both snowboarding and powsurfing.  So stoked to have Scotty on board.

This kids’ got pop!

Jeremy Jensen Interview on Salty Peaks Blog

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We are stoked to have the support of more and more shops around the world.  Salty Peaks has been a leading retailer in the industry for decades and we are proud to have our products on the shelves and in the museum.  Check the Salty Peaks interview with Jeremy Jensen (founder/owner) of Grassroots Powdersurfing, pics and videos here!

http://www.saltypeaks.com/blog/2012/12/grassroots-powdersurfing-freeriding-never-felt-so-free.html