It all started with a 7 hour drive from Calgary to Big White near Kelowna, BC. But it was all worth it…see, the trip was for one of my best friend’s wedding and they had rented a $2000 per night, 6000 sq. ft chalet right on the run. It even had one of those swimming pools where you swim under the glass and you’re outside. Nice. 9 of us staying at a place that can sleep 23, so I was stoked to say the least.

The weather was perfect…inversion conditions with fog in Kelowna and warm, spring-style slush up on the hill with temperatures hovering around 12 degrees. Not bad for January.

…after a few days riding with great people in the sunshine and drinking enough to sink the russian navy we headed to Silverstar to extend the trip. By the time we got there the temperature was over 15 degrees and the snow started to slush-up. They’ve got a great park up at Silverstar to much respect to the crew up there.

Off to Revelstoke…

Rolling into town the fog was low and thick so we just knew that it was going to be clear and sunny up top. If you’ve never been to Revy, all you need to know is that it is steep….real steep, and there’s no easy way down, so if you have troubles on blue runs, this hill ain’t for you.

The view from over 8,000 feet is unreal and with the fog below it was even cooler. Such an epic trip. Congrats Jeff and Sadie!

This Saturday, January 24th Clyde Snowboards is presenting the Lake Louise Slopestyle. Entry is $35 but there is a $4000 prize purse, so get out there and bring home some cheddar.

We will be closed:
Thursday, January 15th
Friday, January 16th
Saturday, January 17th

…for a special event. We are sorry for any inconvenience.

I can never understand how there are people in this world who don’t have any interests or hobbies, or sports that they love. If you are reading this then you are like me…you love snowboarding. This past weekend my love for snowboarding went to a whole’n'other level and here is a short story of how that came to be….

…my friends at Backside Tours invited me on yet another Cat trip to Fernie Wilderness Adventures. Some of you core followers will remember my story from last year, but in my opinion this year’s was better. It involves waking up at the crack of dawn, throwing on your beacon and climbing aboard a Cat for a 40 minute ride to the top.

Once again I build a custom taper board specifically for this trip. “The Whale 2″ as she has become known. Anyway, back to the story. After a ride in the cat filled with low-brow humour and not-so-witty banter (imagine a conversation with 12 dudes and no girls and you get the picture) we got unloaded at the peak and the view was UNREAL…

…should I go left, or should I go right? If life could only be solved with such simple answers…

…the powder was crazy deep and the sun broke through. You could hear everyone “YAHOOOOO’ing” as we bombed run after run, after run in the best snow I’ve ever ridden in my 20 years snowboarding. I had the best run of my life on Sunday and my face is still hurting from smiling so much. Yes, I live a good life. I took this pic right after I got to the bottom:

…I know it doesn’t look like much, but believe me…I had the pole position right behind our guide Brian and when the trees opened up and I hit gladed meadow after gladed meadow of bottomless powder that had yet to see a ski or snowboard this season I was on cloud nine. I can’t even come up with the words to explain how sick it was.

BEST…DAY…EVER…

A special thanks to Backside Tours, our guides at FWA Brian and Martina, and all the great people that I met on this epic trip. Until next year…

On Friday, January 9th and Saturday, January 10th, the Clyde showroom will be closed. All I will say is that it is for good reason and to stay tuned until early next week when I will explain why. It’s gonna be good!

Jason

Gab is the latest addition to the ever growing and ever improving Clyde team. He hails from Quebec, Canada and although he is a pipe dominator, to overlook his skills in the park would be a huge misrepresentation. This FS 7 was taken at the Copper Mountain Grand Prix in Colorado a couple weeks ago and he will be in Calgary to train at the COP this month and to help us dial in designs for the 09/10 season. Stay tuned for more team news and rider bios in the coming weeks.

The 08/09 Clyde team consists of Mike Dunlop, Ryan Hall, Greg Almond and Gab Dussault (with one more to be announced soon). Holla!

Hopefully the hangovers are fading and you are looking forward to ’09 as much as I am. Just a head’s-up that the showroom hours have now changed that we are into January….Thursdays and Fridays, 3pm till 6pm, and Saturdays Noon till 5pm. Now go snowboarding!