Building Booters Who doesn’t love watching those epic video parts where the pro launches off a perfectly placed booter built in the middle of nowhere, spinning some switch 1660 quadrillion triple cork thing (pretty sure that's a thing -ha) landing in to a perfect down ramp of untouched powder and riding out like the wizard they are. How did the booter get there? did they use a snow groomer ?why is it so perfect? Well, it takes patience and an understanding of the snowpack. All those backcountry booters are handmade and built by the filming crew and the riders. 1. Find the right location. When searching for that sweet spot, always make sure that there is a good run in where you will have enough speed and good landing zone (if you crash you don't want to end up cartwheeling into a tree). Test the run in before you build to ensure you have enough speed. 2. How big do you make it? Once you have established that sweet spot you will want to work out the exact size of the height/distance you will travel in the air. If you want to go higher for a steeper landing build the booster with more “pop” if you want to go further build it with less “pop” these parameters should be established when selecting the “sweet spot”. 3. Start digging. It's good to start with the base, clear the area where the booter will start to ramp up. Assuming there is enough snowpack in your location, you'll want to dig down into the snowpack to find the harder snow. Cut blocks out of the harder snowpack and start stacking them like bricks to form the jump. fill the top in with snow and compact with your skis or snowboard. 4. Don’t worry
Building Booters Who doesn’t love watching those epic video parts where the pro launches off a perfectly placed booter built in the middle of nowhere, spinning some switch 1660 quadrillion triple cork thing (pretty sure that’s a thing -ha) landing in to a perfect down ramp of untouched powder and riding out like the wizard they are. How did the booter get there? did they use a snow groomer ?why is it so perfect? Well, it takes patience and an understanding of the snowpack. All those backcountry booters are handmade and built by the filming crew and the riders. 1. Find the right location. When searching for that sweet spot, always make sure that there is a good run in where you will have enough speed and good landing zone (if you crash you don’t want to end up cartwheeling into a tree). Test the run in before you build to ensure you have enough speed. 2. How big do you make it? Once you have established that sweet spot you will want to work out the exact size of the height/distance you will travel in the air. If you want to go higher for a steeper landing build the
You learn a lot from going snowboarding: the changing of the weather and the seasons, the ability to read terrain, the limits of your own physical capabilities; all those valuable skills that we pick up from years of riding. To some these lessons seem insignificant. They are certainly a far cry from what I learnt in my tertiary education. But I think what we learn in the mountains has an application that can reach far beyond the limits of the snow line. The sum total of all these lessons is experience. I sit here writing this looking at reports from another massive dump in NZ almost a meter just this week are blanketing the peaks. Almost the reverse of last year. As I've gotten older I've realised that it's not the depth or quality that defines my enjoyment in the mountains, although it certainly helps! It's the feeling you get when the mountains fill your windscreen and the lights fade in your rear view mirror and the high country opens up before you. I've stopped worrying about how much snow we will get when we head for the hills. The snow will come and all our worries will be forgotten, and all that will matter will be snowboarding!
You learn a lot from going snowboarding: the changing of the weather and the seasons, the ability to read terrain, the limits of your own physical capabilities; all those valuable skills that we pick up from years of riding. To some these lessons seem insignificant. They are certainly a far cry from what I learnt in my tertiary education. But I think what we learn in the mountains has an application that can reach far beyond the limits of the snow line. The sum total of all these lessons is experience. I sit here writing this looking at reports from another massive dump in NZ almost a meter just this week are blanketing the peaks. Almost the reverse of last year. As I’ve gotten older I’ve realised that it’s not the depth or quality that defines my enjoyment in the mountains, although it certainly helps! It’s the feeling you get when the mountains fill your windscreen and the lights fade in your rear view mirror and the high country opens up before you. I’ve stopped worrying about how much snow we will get when we head for the hills. The snow will come and all our worries will be forgotten, and all
Panic…. No don't. That's the first response you have when you realise you have a friend lost out on the mountain. Revelstoke B.C isn't just your regular ski resort. This mother of a hill is a free riders wet dream. 5620 feet of vertical fall line with the very best of British Columbia’s famous snowfall almost 18 meters annually and that's what makes this a destination for any skier or rider worth their salt. This mountain is anything but forgiving. The regulars for any of our road trips Matt, Tom, Del and our friend Joe who was visiting from Oz. We were meeting with our friends who call the town of Revelstoke home. These guys are the real deal. Living day to day and meal to meal. As long as they got on the mountain they sleep better than any baby,and they know the mountain like the back of their hand. After a massive day on the hill. Which involves a non stop top to bottom thrashing of our legs we were all ecstatic with the day's conditions. Blue bird day and 30cm of fresh blower pow! So we regroup and decide to do one more. A wee hike into Kokanee bowl which borders the resort boundary and traverses the cat ski area next to the resort. On the chair lift up Tom turns to me and with an exhausted look on his face says he should have done a poo at the base before we went up. No matter. This is our last one we’ll smash it out and Tom would be on the John before we knew it right? Wrong. We all strapped in and buddies up. The buddy system is a go to for us when we ride in groups, 2 people keep each other in line
Panic…. No don’t. That’s the first response you have when you realise you have a friend lost out on the mountain. Revelstoke B.C isn’t just your regular ski resort. This mother of a hill is a free riders wet dream. 5620 feet of vertical fall line with the very best of British Columbia’s famous snowfall almost 18 meters annually and that’s what makes this a destination for any skier or rider worth their salt. This mountain is anything but forgiving. The regulars for any of our road trips Matt, Tom, Del and our friend Joe who was visiting from Oz. We were meeting with our friends who call the town of Revelstoke home. These guys are the real deal. Living day to day and meal to meal. As long as they got on the mountain they sleep better than any baby,and they know the mountain like the back of their hand. After a massive day on the hill. Which involves a non stop top to bottom thrashing of our legs we were all ecstatic with the day’s conditions. Blue bird day and 30cm of fresh blower pow! So we regroup and decide to do one more. A wee hike into
To get you stoked on the next Epic Snow Tour here is a 30 second short of Co-Founder Benny V shredding some deep deep powder in one of Myoko Japan's secret spots. Its constantly knee to waste deep in this run with face shot after face shot. To find out more about Epic Snow's tours, visit www.epicsnow.co for full tour details.
To get you stoked on the next Epic Snow Tour here is a 30 second short of Co-Founder Benny V shredding some deep deep powder in one of Myoko Japan’s secret spots. Its constantly knee to waste deep in this run with face shot after face shot. To find out more about Epic Snow’s tours, visit www.epicsnow.co for full tour details.
Aero plane food. Late 2011 I was on my way back to The Northern hemisphere for my second full season in the Canadian Rockies. This one was going to be different. I spent the last 6 months working crazy long days to save as much as I could. I was doing a ski bum season! This was the dream. Halfway through my second flight, Auckland to Vancouver the long haul, I started to feel quezie in my stomach. "It's ok I thought" "I've never had food poisoning" oh wasn't I wrong. I've never had food posing that I can remember and definitely in my adult life. Never had I grasped the full scale of what people meant when the say "it was coming out of both holes" but yep that's where I was in the cramped aeroplane cubicle with it coming out of both ends. Not the nicest clean up. Geez I smelt. But what did I eat? I've heard that it can take 6-12 hours to kick in, so I can only put it down to three meals. You know what it's like when you fly- you get bored so you eat. 1st meal At the Brisbane airport with mum as she dropped us off i had a red roster roll, whether it was the dirty bird or not, I haven't eaten it again. 2nd meal (most likely) the chicken and mash with beans. It had something sinister as it went down. 3rd meal the one that came up. Carbonara and a glass of red wine. 6 hours later at Vancouver airport I was dehydrated and out of it. Rather than going through the connecting flight gate I ended up in the taxi rank, lucky I had 3 hours to kill and that's how long it took my tired ass
Aero plane food. Late 2011 I was on my way back to The Northern hemisphere for my second full season in the Canadian Rockies. This one was going to be different. I spent the last 6 months working crazy long days to save as much as I could. I was doing a ski bum season! This was the dream. Halfway through my second flight, Auckland to Vancouver the long haul, I started to feel quezie in my stomach. “It’s ok I thought” “I’ve never had food poisoning” oh wasn’t I wrong. I’ve never had food posing that I can remember and definitely in my adult life. Never had I grasped the full scale of what people meant when the say “it was coming out of both holes” but yep that’s where I was in the cramped aeroplane cubicle with it coming out of both ends. Not the nicest clean up. Geez I smelt. But what did I eat? I’ve heard that it can take 6-12 hours to kick in, so I can only put it down to three meals. You know what it’s like when you fly- you get bored so you eat. 1st meal At the Brisbane airport with mum
What a day we had! Blue bird Pow day, I have never had a day quite like it! Super lucky for us but not for some. That night we saw on the news that there was a rescue over at Akakura Kanko, but not just a rescue, a body was found on Sunday from the day before, the day that we were there!!!! A little bit scary. Nipple deep powder it would be easy to get lost and buried. Safety first kids! Thats why we here at Epic Snow hit the hill prepared. When the snows heavy, even when you are on piste you should have avalanche gear, Beacon, Probe, Shovel and resort map at the very least. Helmets are also a must. Anyway back to the snow….. This place does not let up!. That night the clouds came back. Only a little of the fresh stuff in the morning but all day it was F*cking PUKING as the crazy canucks say. Akakura Kanko was our destination, no rescue can scare us! Straight to the top where the snow flakes where as big as a strawberry and thats where we stayed all day. Sessioning two tree runs on either side of the lift. They were the runs that kept on giving! After every hour each run had 20-30 cms of fresh snow, Yep thats right thats how much fell each hour. Ride one for an hour while the other side filled up.. Words can not describe how amazing this day was. When last chair was called I couldn’t let go, it was Epic! Back to the hotel, onsen, dinner and beers.. “Hey lets get sake” Marty says…. off to the love bar where we ended up drinking with Russians…. Drinking with Russians in Japan, Hilarious!. We don’t know Russian and
What a day we had! Blue bird Pow day, I have never had a day quite like it! Super lucky for us but not for some. That night we saw on the news that there was a rescue over at Akakura Kanko, but not just a rescue, a body was found on Sunday from the day before, the day that we were there!!!! A little bit scary. Nipple deep powder it would be easy to get lost and buried. Safety first kids! Thats why we here at Epic Snow hit the hill prepared. When the snows heavy, even when you are on piste you should have avalanche gear, Beacon, Probe, Shovel and resort map at the very least. Helmets are also a must. Anyway back to the snow….. This place does not let up!. That night the clouds came back. Only a little of the fresh stuff in the morning but all day it was F*cking PUKING as the crazy canucks say. Akakura Kanko was our destination, no rescue can scare us! Straight to the top where the snow flakes where as big as a strawberry and thats where we stayed all day. Sessioning two tree runs on either side
