A Splitboarding Revolution
Words by: Michelle Smith
If you are a snowboarder in the backcountry you have felt the pain. Sure you crush powder like it ain’t no thing, and your legs never really seem to get all that tired. You can make massive amounts of snow hit your face pretty darn easily, and your rooster tails can turn those behind into a you a blind suffocated mess. But what about the other part of your run that you don’t usually mention? The part where you were wallowing in waste deep powder, jumping around like a retarded penguin trying to get through a traverse, or post holing like an idiot while your skier friends have been enjoying apres drinks back at the base for the last few hours. Let’s face it, snowboarding has major benefits but it can put you in a world of pain.
Luckily things are getting easier, and things are getting easier quickly. The splitboard revolution has begun, and we are able to get as deep into the back country as we want.Thanks to companies like Spark R & D
there is a splitboard specific binding that is light, bomber, gives you great contact with your board, and is easy to use.
Then there is Venture Snowboards who make amazing splitboards that are rockered like the Storm
and Helix . I don’t know if any of you have tried out a Venture split, but it feels like my regular go to board. I’d ride it on anything!
And there are also great resources out there now too, like Stephen Koch, Splitboard.com , and Jeremy Jones to name a few.
Stephen Koch has put down some huge first descents in the Tetons and around the world on a snowboard, like the Grand Teton. And he has some great resources on his site about splitboarding and the gear that he uses. Check out his site here:
Here is a video he has on his site about the Spark R & D Splitboard binding.
Spark R&D – Splitboard Transitions from Will Ritter on Vimeo.
Teton Gravity Research and Jeremy Jones are making a whole movie about snowboarders getting deeper into the backcountry. Check out the Deeper trailer here:
And I can’t fail to mention Jackson Snowboarder Dani DeRuyter, who became the first female to snowboard the Grand Teton just a few weeks ago…she was on a splitboard. Check out her amazing story here:
It will be interesting to see how things pan out for this up and coming sport. Who knows what the future will bring us…hard boots that are specifically made for snowboard mountaineering, or what about a hard boot specific splitboard binding that is as sick as a dynafit binding, or a splitboard set up that is just as light weight as our regular downhill board? It can all happen if we are behind it, so let’s get out into the backcountry and keep charging hard.
Category: Mission
sludger!! haha, just kidding. great post, you make some very valid points. splitboarding has come a long way just recently and will continue to evolve as more people get into it. surf the backcountry!!
Good stuff!