Season’s Greetings! 2013-14 Season Opener.

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Brandon Saunders getting low on his grassroots powsurfer.

It seems we had to wait longer than ever before to get a taste of powder this year but as always it’s well worth the wait.  It was mid November when finally a couple of feet blanketed our special zone that we have re-visited for the past 25 years. I learned to snowboard here nearly 25 years, I learned to powsurf here 14 years ago and it just never gets old.  So many nooks and crannies that hold special memories and continue to dish out great memories on every visit.  Welcome winter!!

Whippin’ through head high weeds!

Even 5 inches on dirt is enough to surf when you get the type of floatation that a Grassroots Powsurfer provides.  Weed Wackin’!

RC and I made multiple laps this day, making shallow slalom skateboard-like turns so we didn’t scrape bottom.  So fun watching weeds explode before our eyes and challenging to control speed without taking any speed scrub turns.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Riding 5″ on dirt was a bit of a tease but fun nonetheless.  2 weeks later we got a real dump with 2 new feet to fill things in so we could really slash the pow. Still a bit thin for coverage but it’s amazing how much fun you can squeeze out of just a little bit of snow.  That’s part of the magic of powsurfing.

Brandon and Jeremy soaking in the sun and taking in the familiar view.

14 years ago Brandon Saunders and I brought up an old Winterstick Round Tail plus to this very zone for some of our first big binding free runs.  We were amazed that it was possible to link turns and so full of stoke and thoughts about the future and how we could make a board that would work even better. It was great to re-unite with Brandon and get him back on snow again.  This time on powsurfers  designed and shaped for this very thing.. Brandon was so hyped and amazed with riding boards that were designed for this very purpose.  Welcome back Brandon!

This was Brandon’s first binding free powturn in 14 years. Welcome back brother.

Brandon getting pitted in the woods!

Dodging stumps, fallen trees, logs and rocks in the tight woods..scary but so much fun! That smile says it all.

 

What would an early season at the “sacred grove” be without a little fun in the campground?  We finished off hot pow laps with some pole jammin for desert.

Pole Jam on the Grassroots Phish Swallow tail.

Pole Jam Shuvit

Pole Jam kickflip.

 

 

The Powsurf Chronicles Season 3 TEASER

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The Powsurf Chronicles Season 3 Teaser Thumbnail

Stoked to give you a glimpse into this season’s Chronicles.  ENJOY!

The Powsurf Chronicles Season 3 TEASER from Grassroots Powdersurfing on Vimeo.

Here’s a quick tease of what’s to come in this season’s Powsurf Chronicles short films. Grassroots Powdersurfing was founded in 2007 to create a pure, binding-free powder-riding experience. Drawing inspiration from skateboarding, surfing, and snowboarding, we designed & handcrafted boards that enabled a new style of creativity, self expression and progression. We’ve spent the past 7 years pushing the boundaries of what is possible on our powsurfers and loving every second of it. The Powsurf Chronicles films offer a glimpse of what powsurfing is all about and focuses on the best things in life; people, places, and powder.

Stay tuned for episodes dropping this winter. Visit us at www.powsurf.com to learn more and pick out the right board for you.

Grassroots Wooden Classics

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Classic Wood Powsurfers

Many of these babies were actually handcrafted over a year ago and they were just too beautiful to let go.  I am a bit of a hoarder when it comes to powsurfers, my house and walls are littered with them. It drives my wife absolutely crazy. Fortunately she sees the long hours and sleepless nights that I pour into this passion and she recognizes the unstoppable drive I have to get outside and rip as much pow as humanly possible. It obviously makes me happy and it is part of who I am so she puts up with it.

Sometimes I feel that I get carried away with designing and building things to be as functional as possible; ptex bases, fully gripped topsheets with deep concave, shapes based on performance rather than just aesthetics, etc.  I want the boards I make to ride as good as possible, or else the experience is compromised.  I feel the experience is really what it is all about, more so than how “cool” the board looks. I work to blend the two, but often times my mind chooses function over fashion.

So I decided to take a break from my normal attitude and focus on making something beautiful as priority one, but still make it ride great so as not to disappoint the rider.  They may not be as fast and as durable as our ptex based boards but they are gorgeous.. so much so that you may not even want to ride them for fear of scratching them.  Whether they end up on your wall or under your feet, these boards will certainly turn heads and put smiles on faces.

Check out whats available on the Grassroots Wooden Classics Page. Each of these are one-of-a-kind, personally handcrafted and signed.  I hope the lucky few who pick these up enjoy them as much as I have.  (wiping tears)

Classic Wood Powsurfers

Designed and handcrafted in Logan, Utah by Jeremy Jensen

Specialty Powsurfers Released!

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Grassroots Powsurfers 2014 Models

We’ve been having so much fun riding these shapes that we started to feel guilty keeping them all to ourselves. So 2013-14 is your lucky season! We are stoked to make these unique shapes available to the rest of the powsurfing community. Each board was designed and shaped by Jeremy Jensen and they handmade with care, one at a time in a tiny garage in Logan, Utah.  Their sex appeal goes beyond just aesthetics, they back it up with performance.

We are offering an number of different graphic & shape combinations so click here to pick out your next ride or contact us to inquire about a combination that is not listed.

Specialty Powsurfers

Grassroots Specialty Powsurfers

Graphics for the 2014 Line of Stock Powsurfers

Grassroots Powderslut

We couldn’t be more stoked on the new graphics for this season’s boards.  We have collaborated with some brilliant artists in the US and Canada to give this year’s powsurfers a great new look.  The “stock” line consists of our best selling shapes that we have offered over the years.  The Powder Skate Twin, the Slasher, the Powder Shark, and our best selling model- the Powder Slut.

Check the 2014 Stock Powsurfers–

Grassroots Powder SkateGrassroots SlasherGrassroots PowderslutGrassroots Powder Shark

THE ARTISTS:

Colby Eubanks airbrushed the Powder Skate graphic back in 2000 on one of my skateboards. It was so fitting for the “Powder Skate” model that I had to bring it back.

Jordan Nielsen is an LA based artist who created the “Slasher” and the “Powder Shark” graphics. Jordan’s creates some great illustrations and design work and is currently working his dream job designing Vans shoes.

Vanessa Stark is responsible for the graphic on this year’s “Powder Slut”. Vanessa lives in Pemberton BC and draws here inspiration from a healthy outdoor lifestyle. Aside from being a brilliant artist she is a full on ripper on the snow, a mother, and a damn good cook.
We are stoked and proud to have such talented people contributing to this years line of boards.

 

 

 

 

Jeremy Jensen interview with Kronicle Magazine

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Kronicle Magazine Article featuring Jeremy Jensen, shaper and owner of Grassroots Powdersurfing.

If you haven’t checked out Kronicle backcountry snowboard magazine yet then you are missing out.  This is a great magazine, packed full of mouth watering photography, backcountry gear reviews and great stories.  This mag is geared towards people who love exploring the backcountry and riding fresh pow. We highly recommend buying a copy or two of their print material and following them online.  Last week Jeremy Jensen, owner/creator of Grassroots Powdersurfing sat down with Kronicle Magazine to talk about the history of Grassroots and what the future holds for binding-free riding.  Click the link below to check it out, and don’t forget to subscribe to their feed, their facebook page and their print mag.  You will be glad you did.

http://www.kroniclemag.com/kronicled-jeremy-jensen/

Vermont boys slashing up the “Backwoods” out east.

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Our friend Nick Stefani put this little ditty together from a cabin trip in VT this season.  Nick’s skills on the hills and behind the lens speak for themselves. Check it!

Backwoods from Nick Stefani on Vimeo.

Check out Nick’s reel and more of his work at http://vimeo.com/30571983

Ticket To Tailgate Alaska – Snowboarder Magazine Video Contest Submission

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Ticket to Tailgate video image

Exploring the mountains of Alaska has been a life-long dream for me and this season I am doing everything I can to make that dream come true. When I saw that Snowboarder Magazine and  Tailgate Alaska were giving away $5000 towards a trip to the Tailgate AK event my hopes were raised.  I’ve been trying to bag as much footy as possible this season, despite it being the driest Utah winter in recorded history. So I threw some of it together and put my hat in the ring.

While I’m not a fan of facebook  popularity contests, I figured it was worth a try.  If nothing else it is another platform for more people to be exposed to the possibilities of ripping down mountains without the help of the old training wheels.  While it was one of the favorites, the edit didn’t win the contest.  So I will be making my Alaska dream come true the Grassroots way.. through hard work and personal sacrifice. One way or another I will make it to Alaska to surf the biggest mountains in the world this year.

Here’s a look at my submission. Thanks to my homies for helping me get shots!

Snowboard Magazine’s Ticket to Tailgate: Jeremy Jensen from Grassroots Powsurf on Vimeo.

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