Hello Loyal readers,
I just wanted to wish you a Merry Christmas & Happy New Year. I'll be away on vacation until the second week in January so I won't be putting up many new post between now and when I return.
But when I do get back to reality, I'll be sure to get you the latest news from up in Whistler and around the snowboarding world.
Take care and all the best this holiday season,
The Speedy Descend
Hello all,
Sorry for the lack of postings or updates but I have been really busy at work and have no time to posted up any new blogs.
This passed weekend I decided to get away from my busy schedule and head of to Whistler to get some snowboarding in before I go on holidays. Now in past weeks the conditional have been less than desirable but I really want to snowboard so I just went for it.
On Saturday I went up to Whistler mountain for the day because the Whistler side has better snow coverage than Blackcomb, Blackcomb was way too icy. It was still pretty cold as the temperatures were about -20 degrees Celsius but very little winds so that was good. I tried to good off and find some better terrain but the lack of snow coverage in those area made me stay close to Emerald and Red chairs. Staying within these areas sucked because there was too many people and the snow was so packed down that it was ice….I couldn’t get my edge in which started to really frustrate me. So I did a hand full or runs and decided to call it a day….that is the beauty of a seasons pass.
When I got back to the cabin I check the snow forecast because if it was going to be shit again I was going to pack my bags and head back to Vancouver. But the forecast surprised me when it said that about 15cm was going to fall in the alpine overnight. Yes, finally a somewhat powder day.
So on Sunday I woke up really early and headed to the lifts to make it there for 8:00am. When I got up on Whistler mountain there was powder to surf though…this is what I have been waiting for the last couple of weeks. Now areas close to Emerald and Red chair were good enough but I could have ventured out a bit more but was too lazy to. I surfed all the pow until it was all tracked out then headed to Blackcomb mountain via Peak 2 Peak. I was told that not that many people were on Blackcomb and there still some untracked run left. But I when on Blackcomb and the conditions were still not the best. It’s weird because Blackcomb usually gets better snow coverage in more areas than Whistler. By 2:00pm I was done and decided to call it a day since I’ve been up from about 6:30am.
Overall this weekend was saved by the Saturday night snowfall and the fact no one was up on the mountain on Sunday, so I was happy with it. But looking ahead…it’s going to start dumping in Whistler have a look…..just in time for Christmas and for me not to be there since I’m head to Toronto to visit my family.
On Friday Dec 12th Kelly Slater won his 6th Pipeline Masters in Hawaii defeating follow American Chris Ward. Pipeline was the last stop on the ASP Tour and is the most prestigious event in surfing. Slater paddled out in eight to 10 foot waves at Pipeline four times today, beating Chris Ward (USA) 14.00 to 7.23 in the in the first man-on-man final* held at the venue in eight years. Slater’s heat totals in the three heats prior to the final were 19.00, 18.63 and 19.40 – all out of a possible 20 points.
This years Pipeline Masters victory was doubly sweet given Parkinson made headlines earlier in the week by earning the first-ever perfect 20 out of 20 heat total at Pipeline – only the second perfect heat total in ASP history under the two wave format. Also Parko won the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing, which is the highest score for competitions at Haleiwa, Sunset Beach and the Pipeline Masters.
So now this the ASP Surfing tour all wrapped for 2008, this is how the final top ten standings look.
1) Kelly Slater (USA)
2) Bede Durbidge (AUS)
3) Taj Burrow (AUS)
4) Joel Parkinson (AUS)
5) C.J. Hobgood (USA)
6) Adrian Buchan (AUS)
7) Adriano de Souza (BRA)
8) Mick Fanning (AUS)
9) Bobby Martinez (USA)
10) Jeremy Flores (FRA)
At the age of 36, Kelly Slater’s 50-6 record is the most dominant in pro surfing history, which validates what we already knew, that he’s also surfing better than ever. But what does it all mean? Is Kelly Slater going to come back in 2009 to compete for his 10th ASP World Championship? I guess we will see on February 28 at the Quiksliver Pro, Gold Coast Australia, tour stop. I can’t wait for another year of the exciting ASP Tour.
Hello all,
Just wanted to remind you that Whistler's Peak 2 Peak opens today. If you don't know the Peak 2 Peak is a cable car or gondola that runs from Whistler to Blackcomb mountain. More specifically from the Roundhouse lodge on whistler to the Rendezvous lodge on Blackcomb, right over Fitzsimmons Creek.
I be riding it this weekend so I will take many pictures and videos to show you all the Peak 2 Peak experience.
Take care and look for my Peak 2 Peak post next week.
I headed up to Whistler on this weekend, as per my usual winter weekend routine. I knew going into it that it did snow much or at all the week before, so the condition where going to be less than desirable. Got up there Friday night, via the Greyhound and headed straight for the cabin, as I was really tired from working long hours all week. My plan was to wake up early and hit the mountain to ride all day, but Saturday morning came around and I needed more sleep. So I got up to the hill at 11:30am.
On Saturday I boarded on Blackcomb…still no new snow. The conditions actually were worse than the weekend before….kind of icy. Also Blackcomb only had a couple of lifts open, Jersey Cream, Solar Coaster and Catskinner, so everyone was all in a confidante area. If you know Blackcomb the run are tight even on the best of days, that what Blackcomb so good. But on Saturday with the number of people and narrow runs I basically took a hand full of runs and called it a day…good thing I have a seasons pass.
Sunday, I headed to Whistler and this time I managed to get up earlier that the day before. The extra motivation came from the 10cm of snow that fell overnight. So in the morning the condition where ok, a layer of powder over hard packed….nothing to ride home about. As the day when on the conditions got worse and the fresh powder was all packed out.
Since all the run were pack out I decided to go off and make my own line….what a mistake that was. Knowing that there were rocks, or land mines I like to call them, under the powder, I tried to get some powder riding done. After taking my so called powder line I look at the base of my board and it was full of rock shots. One word of advice just stay on the runs until it dumps unless you are will to hike the higher alpine just like some people I saw. But all in all Sunday was a better day because the Whistler they had open area more wide open therefore accommodating more riders.
It is suppose to snow a bit over the rest of this week so hopefully the weekend will be better. Also Peak 2 Peak is opening on Friday so if I can get on it this weekend I’ll show you all in my next post.
To follow up last years snowboarding flick Absinthe Films released the 2009 film, Ready. Ready features the usually Absinthe riders like Nico Muller, JP Solberg, Romain DeMarchi, Gigi Ruf, and Wolle Nyvelt to name a few. One rider you see that is not on the list is Travis Rice. Travis created his own film for 2009 called That’s It That’s All.
Much of the film takes place in Europe, British Columbia Canada (Whistler and BC interior mountains) and of course what made Absinthe famous, in
I was really excited to see this movie because last year two of my favourite riders were not featured in last years Absinthe flick, JP Solberg and Romain DeMarchi, due to injuries.
So without further adieu here is my review on Ready.
1) Soundtrack
Well I have to start of by saying that Absinthe Film was always experimental with their soundtrack, but they always seem to put it together well. This years soundtrack, in my opinion was not very good at all. It lacked any type of energy and climatic moments. It was really mellow from start to finish, almost putting me to sleep. Even the closing scene with Nico and Gigi was so mellow…I mean come on finish strong. I thing that really pissed me off about the soundtrack was JP Solberg’s and Romain DeMarchi’s part, the music did not compliment the riding and I was so looking forward to getting amped by their parts.
Absinthe, for next please step in the soundtrack department to inject more energy….the soundtrack sucked for this years flick Ready.
2) Cinematography
The cinematography in Ready was high quality as per the usually Absinthe flicks….not most cutting edge but good. Colours came out well and camera positioning for each scene was on point. Alot of the
3) Scenes / Rider Segment
Putting the shitty soundtrack aside, the riding in this flick is awesome. I mean how could it not be with heavy hitters like Nico, JP, Gigi, Romain, Wolle and Jeremy Jones. My favourite scene had to have been JP Solberg’s segment. He had been injured for awhile now and partaking in filming for a bit but this years put was off the hook….he definitely killed it….right on JP. The guy is so smooth when launching off backcountry booters…he spins are so tight. I also really like watching the closing scene, baring the music, from Nico and Gigi as they put on a good show together. It gave me the sense of riding with my buddy just having fun.
4) Extras / Bonus Scenes
The bonus scenes didn’t have must but there did put in the Flipside to Optimistic, which is the making of last years movie. The Flipside to Optimistic is pretty cool to watch because it gives us an insight to a day in the life of a professional snowboarder….it not all gilts and glam.
5) Overall
To sum it up I really didn’t enjoy the soundtrack as I thought it was lacking energy and to bland. To me a soundtrack is what makes the flick that much better, not get me wrong the riding was awesome but because of the shitty music I think this years Absinthe movie is just average.
I give it a 6.5 to 7 out of 10 and would consider it just a one time rental type of movie. Meaning if you see it once it’s good enough, as I don’t think it’s worth the buy. It’s too bad because I really love Absinthe films but this one lacks the energy they once had.
Hello loyal readers, you know from previous posts that I have been really concerned about the 08-09 winter and the amount of snowfall we might and might not be getting. Well I just came across so information that doesn’t paint a very good picture for this years winter season in the coastal
I search the net franticly in find information that would give me an idea of what to expect this winter. A good reference that I have used for the last couple of years is the Farmer’s Almanac, which is pretty accurate from year to year.
Below are a couple links that predict the next couple of months:
http://www.almanac.com/weather/
http://wx-man.com/blog/?cat=200
http://www.farmersalmanac.com/weather/a/2008-09-weather-outlook-for-canada
As you can see from the information above the temperature for the pacific
Well thinking positively I hope we these predictions do not come to fruition and we here in Whistler have a season full of powder days.
Take care and happy trails on the slopes.
I have officially started my snowboarding season for 08/09 this past weekend, Nov 28th and 29th, in Whistler. Whistler mountain actually opened on Nov 26th with Blackcomb mountain opening one day later, on Nov 27th. Now since I’m now working full-time in
I was a bit worried with regards to the conditions as I have been checking the snow report for the last two months and never really saw any significant snowfall…even up to opening day. As a matter a fact the freezing level and overall air temperature was well above seasonal….now you can see why I was so concerned.
On Saturday I hit the slopes pretty late, at about 10am, to avoid the huge lineup for the Whistler gondola that was expected. Since it was the US Thanksgiving and opening Whistler mountain on Saturday was packed with people….it’s a good thing that I did wait until later in the morning. Also the snow conditions were what I thought they would be shit. The alpine temperature was about + 4 degrees celsius and there were times were it drizzled rain because the freezing level was above the peak of the mountain....I felt sorry for people who paid $83 plus to ride in those shitty conditions. Sunday we decided to hit up Blackcomb. The conditions actually got even worse over night because it didn’t snow and the alpine temperature was almost 8 degrees celsius…..spring like conditions. The good thing is that it wasn’t too busy but even with that said we only took a couple of run and packed it in for the day. Overall opening weekend was disappointing with regards to snow conditions as I was hoping for a lot better. I just hope we don’t see another 04/05 season in Whistler as I really want to do more powder riding this year and get into the backcountry.
Well all you Whistler riders prey to the snow gods for a huge dump of snow to come really soon because it is much needed for Whistler and Blackcomb mountain.
I’ll keep you post on the conditions this coming weekend.
The second film for 2009 from Mack Dawg Productions is Down With People. This follow-up film to With People stars Louis Fountain, Josh Mills, Pat McCarthy, Shaun McKay, Jordan Mendenhall, Stephen Duke, Jon Kooley, Austin Smith, Bryan Fox, Simon Chamberlain, Zac Marben, Filippo Fratter, Ryan Thompson and Joe Sexton. Some of the locals that the flick is shot in are
The Down With People crew is a bit younger than the Double Decade crew, so it’s kind of like Down With People is the minor league version of Double Decade. But don’t get twisted the riders in Down With People are some of the best in the world at rail and park riding in particular. The film shows the riders strengths off well because it’s pretty rail and park heavy with little snippets from the backcountry.
1) Soundtrack
I really enjoyed the soundtrack to Down With People because it complimented the rider’s scene well and provide some variety from segment to segment. Some of the artists that were featured in the film where Judas Priest, Boy Dylan, Run DMC and Jimi Hendrix to name a few. The music kept my attention throughout the film and added to the enjoyment of watching Down With People. My Favourite segment with respect to music had to have been Zac Marben’s with Jimi Hendrix’s Crosstown Traffic, the beginning to that scene was awesome and it just flowed right.
2) Cinematography
Cinematography in Down with People is similar to other Mack Dawg films as in it is pretty high quality. I mean nothing like the gold standard, which is now That’s It That’s All, but well done. There are some unique camera angles during the street riding segments and the editing is done really well as Mack Dawg does. For some reason the way Down With People was filmed reminded me of Mack Dawg’s film from a couple of year ago called Shakedown….not really sure why?
3) Rider Segment / Scene
As I mention I really enjoyed watching this film as all the riders parts were solid. I was hard to choose a rider that really out did the other but guys like Bryan Fox, Jon Kooley, Joe Sexon and Simon Chamberlain had amazing parts. But if I had to choose I would say the intro from Austin Smith and last scene from Zac Marben were the best. I really liked Zac’s intro to the scene with that cool segment of him riding through a residential neighborhood with Hendrix pumping in the background.
Since the film is rail and street heavy each rider is really pushing to put out the most tech jib tricks and that is so evident in riders like Marben, Kooley, Sexon and Chamberlain’s part. If you’re a park / street rider, watch those guys because their riding and tricks are off the hook.
Also another really cool and funny part is the end of the film just before the credits were guys like JP Walker, Jeremy Jones and Todd Richards are dissing the crew from Down People. I guess Mack Dawg just wanted to create a little rivalry because the two Mack Dawg crew. Check it out because their disses are pretty funny.
4) Extras / Bonus
The Bonus scenes in this film are so amazing. It’s like having two movies in one because the bonus is each riders extra scenes that didn’t make final cut put together….that makes it like a second movie. If you’re thinking that the scenes in the bonus section won’t be that good because it’s the out takes from the main film, you’re wrong because the bonus material is just as good as the movie itself. Actually I enjoyed some of the bonus segments more than the final movies ones. Riders like Austin Smith, Jon Kooley, Zac Marben and Simon Chamberlain’s had awesome bonus features.
5) Overall
Overall I really enjoyed Down With People as the film had a ton of bangers, amazing riders and good music, all the right elements that make a good snowboarding flick. If you’re into park and street riding I would suggest picking this one up because of the high level of riding and with the added scenes in the bonus scene it makes $35 seem well spent….a cool, fun flick with some of my favourite riders.
The wait is over for the much anticipated follow up to Travis Rice’s Community Project and the 2009 film is called That’s It That’s All (TITA). TITA was a two year project by snowboarder Travis Rice and film maker Curt Morgan that features a sleuth of amazing riders like Mark Landvik, Nicolas Muller, Terje Haakonsen, Jeremy Jones (big mountain rider), Scotty Lago, John Jackson and of course the creator Travis Rice.
The film is all about exploration, big mountain riding and snowboarding progression. This flick features scenes from New Zealand, Whistler, the BC interior, Part City, and Jackson Hole to name a few.
So cutting to the chase, here is my review of That’s It That’s All. And trust me this is going be a good one!!!
1) Soundtrack
The soundtrack for That’s It That’s All is fitting to the riding style of Travis Rice, hard hitting and powerful. Most of the tracks in each scene are straight up alternative and heavy rock/metal. This snowboarding movie shies away from the normal by packing a powerful dramatic punch to each scene. Snowboarding movies in the last couple of years have got the mellow route in my opinion, which is cool too. From the opening scene the music sets the tone of the whole film, there is no dull moment music wise. It’s just high energy and intensity all the way through. Even if you don’t like hard rock this soundtrack will amp you up to go out to your local mountain and ride as hard as Travis Rice does.
2) Cinematography
Oh my God, the cinematography in That’s It That’s All was out of this world. The director Curt Morgan used a film technology call cineplex filming that made so high high quality. Morgan mentions in one of the scenes that the cineplex technology really puts the audience in the moment of what the riders are experiencing. I also have to mention that the colours in the flick just popped. I have never seen a snowboarding movie that was filled with so much colour from the scenery…it was just visually vivid. TITA is now the new standard in snowboarding filming production, if not the standard for all action sports. Filmmakers take note because this is the best flick visually I have ever seen. I just wish I had a HDTV to see this movie the way it was intended.
Best looking snowboarding movie ever produced, it was worth the wait.
3) Rider Segments / Scenes
This movie is so so fucken good that it’s hard to pick the best scene but I really like the opener because it sets the tone for the whole flick and it display the cinematography really well. All through the movie Travis Rice is banging out trick after trick. T.Rice is killing it in order to make the best movie possible and progress snowboarding to the next level. I mean there were so many tricks that Travis did that I’ve never seen before, this guy is what snowboarding is about. Also another rider who kill it was Jeremy Jones with his big mountain lines in Alaska. I really enjoyed watching Jones helmet cam ride because you really go the sense of what it’s like to snowboard in the Alaskan backcountry.
You really have to give it up for the riders in this film because they displayed to the world what the new standard is for riding in a snowboarding film.
4) Extras / Bonus Features
Unlike other movies for this year That’s It That’s All packs a lot of bonus clips from the making of TITA to a photography slideshow to all the teasers. Also included is an intro to the snowboarding competition, Natural Selection, which was invented by Travis Rice. But my favourite bonus feature was called “Travis Does Tahiti”. It was Travis Rice and Quiksilver snowboarding team mate Todd Richards going to Tahiti on a surf trip with the amazing surf and also Quiksilver sponsor surfer, Dane Reynolds. I almost jumped out of my chair when I saw this because the filming was so good and getting to Dane surf he is definitely one of my favorite surfers. Rice and Richards are pretty good surfers too, it was really cool to see one of the most famous waves in the world be shredded by snowboarders.
5) Overall
As you can already guess, That’s It That’s All is definitely my favourite snowboarding movies of 2009 and maybe of all time. It just on another level compared to everything else out there these days. From the riding to the quality of film this has to be movie of the year and is really worth the money. Even if this movies was $100 I would still buy it, it was that good.
Overall I give this movie a 10 out of 10. But really it should be more like a 100 out of 10. Awesome movie Travis and after watching That’s It That’s All I’m so amped to hit the mountains.
For 2009 Mack Dawg Productions is celebrating their 20th year in the business with the release of Double Decade. The title is fitting because back in 1999 they released Decade. Double Decade features your favorite riders that MDP has been filming for the last couple of years like Jeremy Jones, Andreas Wiig, Seth Huot, DCP, Eero Ettala, Jussi Oksanen and more. Also riding are returning stars that use to film with MDP like my favouite rider JP “The Don” Walker and Devun “Whistler backcountry master” Walsh. Double Decade was film in places like Whistler, Mt. Baker, the Tahoe area, Finland and I think I even saw a couple scenes within Montreal hitting up handrails/jibs.
The concept of the flick is to give the audience a history lesson on the progression of snowboarding and filmmaking, along with a great movie that MDP is know for. You will also notice a lot of homage to past flicks by the places that were filmed in this movie, especially the jibbing scenes.
So without further adieu here is my review on Double Decade.
1) Soundtrack
One major thing you will thing you will notice when you watch Double Decade is that there is only one hip-hop track, weird…and it’s not even in JP’s part. Regardless of the lack hip-hop that music throughout the film works with music from the Doobie Brothers, Pet Shop Boys, NOFX, The Cardigans and the Ramoans. The soundtrack kind of gels together in a more laid back way rather that hard hitting like in past movies. I don’t mind this collection of music for the film but I don’t think it’s MDP best. I think they could have put in a bit more climatic hard hitting tracks to give the movie more pop…come on MDP this is your 20th year anniversary.
2) Cinematography
Cinematography in this film was good…very much the same as Picture This. Shots were clean, crisp and the colours came through well…high quality filming techniques. Also editing was done well as no scenes were cut off at the beginning or end…they showed all riders tricks from start to finish including a good amount of run out. The tricks within each scene were seamlessly put together and flowed really well.
3) Rider Segment / Scene
Each rider in the movie did a good job so it’s hard to choose to a scene that stands out….one doesn’t standout more than the other. But if I had to pick I would say the history lesson 201 and JP Walker’s part…these two scenes are well placed and fit together back to back. It’s great to see JP back filming and his final scene jump was off the hook. I still can’t believe JP’s song is not a hip-hop one, but the Pet Shop Boys song does fit to my surprise. Devun’s part was really good too...it flowed amazingly.
As I said all the riders were awesome and the level of snowboarding high with tech tricks accompanied by amazing locations and conditions.
4) Extras / Bonus Features
There are not a lot of true bonus scenes in Double Decade. But the one they have are pretty cool it keep inline with the concept of the film by ask riders of the past and present who is the best Jumper, Jibber, Pipe Rider and what is the MDP film of the last 20 years. At first I thought, oh man what a waste, but as I watched them I really enjoyed hearing who the riders of the past picked for the best of.
5) Overall
Overall I enjoyed watch Double Decade, I think it was a well made film with solid riding from a star studded cast. I really liked the JP Walker was back filming and it was good to see him reunite with Jermey Jones and Devun Walsh. A couple of amazing riders from the old Forum team…brought back memories of my favorite MDP movie, True Life. Also the flick did get me amped to go out ride and it does that then it’s a pretty good movie. The only downside to Double Decade was the soundtrack. As mentioned before it should have been a bit more climatic for their anniversary movie. So sum this review I up I give Double Decade an 8 to 8.5 out of 10 and think it’s money well spent.
Since I have been recently getting more and more into surfing I when to my local board shop and pick up the new DC surf video called Dude Cruise.
Dude Cruise is the first movie from Irons Bros. Productions, the new film company formed by Bruce and Andy Irons, and the first-ever movie featuring the DC surf team and just the DC surf team.
The concept of the film is a DC team trip, with Bruce Irons, Dane Reynolds, Ry Craike, and amateur Garret Parks, through Australia for a two-week road trip complete with world class surfing, and a view into the boy's personalities. Have you every wondered what it is like to experience a surf trip through Bruce Irons' or Dane Reynolds' eyes? With this movie you get an inside view of what a two week surf trip with the world's top surfers is really like. Dude Cruise shows sessions start to finish--not just the banger clips--to offer a more realistic look at what happens when you're just out with your friends having a good time.
Now for the review
1) Soundtrack
The soundtrack to Dude Cruise is amazing with many big name artists on the bill. Some of the names dropping songs in this flick are the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Beck and NIN. The soundtrack is also properly placed with the flow of the scene. My favourite soundtrack scene is Bruce Irons’ outro with Lost Valentinos “17 Deaths” and Dane Reynolds intro with NIN.
I have to say that I really only seen a few surf videos but this soundtrack is the best I have seen even considering all the snowboarding videos I’ve watched.
2) Cinematography
Cinematography within the movie was well done, it wasn’t ground breaking just good. I have to say that I really appreciated seeing a full session of riding rather than just the highlights from a session. It gave me more of a realistic sense of surfing rather that just seeing all the bangers. It kind of reminded me of watch Robot Foods Lame, a snowboard video along the same concept as Dude Cruise. It was just fun to watch.
3) Segments / Riders
Since the flick was filmed all Australia the scenes blending in a bit too much but the segment that got me amp was Bruce Irons’ outro scene. With the combination of Bruce’s powerful surfing and the kick ass song it was an awesome scene. Over I think Dane Reynolds was amazing…man that guy have a lot of style when surfing and the tricks and airs where off the charts.
4) Extras
The extras segment in Dude Cruise consists of all the trailers, photos from the trip and the car crash scene. They also offer director commentary throughout the movie if you turn that option on in the extras segment…it pretty cool.
5) Overall
Overall Dude Cruise was an amazing surf video with world class surfer. The only downside is that the flick seemed short, even though it was about 40mins and I was hoping for a bit more variety in locations. But still if you want to see cutting edge surfing at it’s best get Dude Cruise…it will amp you up to hit the waves.
Hello all, you may have noticed via the Whistler snow forecast and website that the conditions are not good at all. It’s very similar to the shitty snow year back in 2004 / 2005 where Whistler only saw about 80cm of total snowfall for November. So far this November, as of 20th, the total snowfall is only a dismal 70cm. Considering opening day is only a week away, November 27th, this is not good.
I guess this can be looked as a good thing because if the snow is not falling in November there should be a huge dump of snow for December. But by looking that the weather trends in the last couple of weeks that temperatures have been about 5 degrees above seasonal and the very little precipitation.
So lets all prey to the snow gods that it starts to snow heavy in the Whistler for the next week and beyond. Or else we can possibility see another season like 04 / 05….that would suck.
Showcase Snowboards is a board shop located in Whistler in the Sundial Hotel complex that is owned by Intrawest. It’s one of Whistler most busiest and infamous snowboard shops and the reason for that is obvious….because it’s located right near the main gondolas for Whistler and Blackcomb mountain. Showcase has a couple of other locations within other Intrawest resorts like Colorado's Copper Mountain. Also you can go online to their site, Showcase Snowboards, to get all your snowboard needs.
Showcase even put on a yearly competition on in Whistler called “The Showcase Showdown”, which feature some of Canada’s best riders. This competition is usually nest the end of February and is really good because is kinda like a pipe and park comp mix into one. If you are in Whistler during definitely check it out but go early to get a spot to watch.
I usually stroll into Showcase Whistler once in awhile to check out what’s new and just browse around. I have purchase a couple of items from them and thought it would be good to post a review about the shop to let other know what they can expect.
1) Shop setup / Visual Merch
Showcase Snowboards Whistler is a pretty big shop for Whistler, actually the biggest, with a pretty clean modern setup to it. The shop is well organized with a section for soft goods, gear and even a separate shop for women stuff that right next door. The shop that’s just for woman’s stuff it the Burton woman’s store and I think that it looks better than the main shop does….pretty well designed.
Showcase also features a live DJ Fridays thru Sunday during the evening to give the shop a nightclub type of feel. This is a unique touch. So go get your dance and shop on!!!
2) Product Variety
The shop carries many of the big name snowboarding brands such as Burton, Option and also locally produced Prior snowboards. They also have a large inventory of clothing from Volcom, Burton and Bonfire. But aside from snowboarding related gear Showcase doesn’t have much more. Their main focus is snowboarding. In the summer the shop does sell surfboards but only a handful. But if you’re looking for Burton gear this shop is the one in Whistler.
3) Pricing
As you would expect, the pricing is not much different from other board shops in Whistler. Sales rarely are put up by Showcase even in the summer. The big sales occur at Thanksgiving and in the summer but the price drop are not that significant. Also I find it’s hard to haggle a deal because it’s really a large corporately owned shop and they probably have strict rules about product pricing.
4) Customer Service
Customer service at Showcase is hit and miss. Sometimes you get really good service and other times the shop employees are too cool to help you out.
A couple times I have been in the store wondering around and never was approached by an employee asking if they can help me out. I think that a shop in a tourist local like Whistler should always approach the customer asking if they need help but I guess sometimes they don’t really care but ton of people go in that shop daily. Other times I got really good service and which led me in the right direction as to what to purchase.
I think if Showcase stepped it up on the customer service side and not just on the Turkey Sale weekend, the shop would be the best in Whistler.
5) Overall
Overall Showcase is a good shop with some unique flare, like the DJ thing on the weekends and organization of the yearly competition. But they could improve on their product variety abit, customer service and the shop should be a Burton Collation shop….I can’t believe it’s not.
I know we all have been patiently waiting for the beginning of the snowboarding session up in Whistler and have been wondering about the conditions up there. Is the season going to start early? Is there going to be enough snow for opening day, Nov 27?
Well you can stop wondering now and start checking up on it daily because Whistler Blackcomb is starting up its daily snow report. Each and everyday at about 6:00am you can read what the conditions are for that morning and the forecast for the next couple of days. The Whistler Blackcomb daily snow report is taken on Whistler from just above mid-station at about 1400 meters and the weather forecast is from Environment Canada.
Whistler Blackcomb Snow Report site
The Whistler Blackcomb snow report is good but I have found a better report that I have been using for the past 4 years in Whistler. It’s called the Snow-Forecast website. This site gives you the opportunity to see conditions and forecasts at various elevations (village, 675m, mid 1400m and peak 2284m). The Snow-Forecast site is pretty accurate too because we I compare their forecast to Environment Canada’s it bang on. But the add bonus it know what the forecast is going to be at the peak for the next 6 days.
Whistler Snow Forecast site
So go and check it out….it’s just another tool for you to chase the elusive powder experience.
Most recently I have been shopping alot at Pacific Boarder in Vancouver. Pacific Boarder is a complete board shop that is located on West 4th close to Burrard Street, actually right across the street from Westbeach, with products from snowboarding, skateboarding and surfing.
Pacific Boarder website
1) Shop setup / Visual merch
The Pacific Boarder shop is really big, definitely one of the biggest in the lower mainland. Once you walk into the store you’ll see straight ahead the men’s clothing / outerwear area and to the left, in the next room is all the woman’s accessories. This is really good because they have a store size area just dedicated for women’s wear. Along the back wall is all the hardgear from skateboarding to snowboarding to surfing.
Pacific always has some type of display in their large street front windows, from what you can see in the picture above. The store front displays are pretty artistic and they always grab my attention everytime I walk by there…I really liked the new Rome Artifact display done about a month ago.
2) Variety
In terms of variety Pacific Boarder has it all, carrying the big name brands in snowboarding, skateboarding and surfing. Some of the brands that they carry from a snowboarding perspective are Burton, Rome, Ride, Capita and Salomon. Pacific Boarder is also a Burton Coalition shop, so you can get all the Burton limited edition products.
In the summer Pacific Boarder’s inventory is mostly surfboards, wetsuits and skateboarding products. They also keep their snowboard equipment out in case you want gear for the summer snowboarding sessions on the Blackcomb glacier in Whistler.
3) Product Pricing
The price of the merch in the shop is relatively the same as any other shop you might find and Pacific Boarder rarely has sales and their sales only occur during the thanksgiving weekend (less than 10% off) and at season end (20% to 25% off). But Pacific Boarder employees are cool and you might be able to get a deal from them if you chat them up a bit. I got a deal on my new Burton Un..Inc, $60 off, just by talking to the guys helping me out.
4) Customer Service
When it comes to customer service Pacific Boarder is really good. The staff there is always will to help out and are really friendly. One of the good things about this shop is that most of the staff actually ride the boards they are selling, so you are getting an expert opinion on how well the gear you think of buying is.
When I bought my board I was help out alot by the staff letting me know how the board rides, durability, etc. They really made my decision process easy because of their first hand knowledge of riding some of the boards they sell.
5) Overall
Overall Pacific Boarder is a really cool shop with a good variety of gear, excellent customer service and really knowledgeable staff. If you are in the area and looking to buy gear definitely check out Pacific Boarder because you will get honest opinion without the sales pitch forcing you to buy.
Bede Durbidge claimed his third ASP World Tour career win with a victory at the Hang Loose Santa Catarina Pro in Imbituba, Brazil, today. Durbidge beat France’s Jeremy Flores 17.76 to 9.86. This win bumped Bede from 4th in the overall ASP standings to 2nd behind the world champ Kelly Slater.
Here is the current ASP top 10 standings after the Hang Loose Santa Catarina Pro
1. Kelly Slater (USA) 8042
2. Bede Durbidge (AUS) 6780
3. Taj Burrow (AUS) 6324
4. Joel Parkinson (AUS) 6180
5. C.J. Hobgood (USA) 5860
6. Adriano de Souza (BRA) 5748
7. Adrian Buchan (AUS) 5370
8. Mick Fanning (AUS) 5310
9. Bobby Martinez (USA) 5282
10. Jeremy Flores (FRA) 5214
You might be wondering why you don’t see any of the other big names in the finals. The reason is because surfers like Slater, Fanning, Irons, Martinez and Parko decided to skip the Brazil comp and heal up for Pipeline in Hawaii as many of these guys are bang up abit. So the Pipeline competition starting on Dec 8th should be a really good one because everyone wants to win Pipeline.
The first board shop that I visited when I first came to live in Whistler was The Circle because it was right across the street from where I was living. The Circle in Whistler is located on Main Street in the Village North, Marketplace area. It’s pretty much in the plaza right across from the 7-11 and beside the Alpenglow condo entrance. The Circle is a locate shop that has its roots in Whistler and now also have a shop in downtown Vancouver, Gastown more specifically.
The Circle website
1) Shop setup / Visual merch
The Circle is a cool setup just from the outside because the physical building is actually shaped in a circle. Once inside you’ll see that the shop has a cool flow to it because of its design. The shop is mostly dominated by clothing and outerwear these days, with more of the street clothing the right and the snowboard gear (outerwear and hard good) to the left. It’s a clean modern look to its layout that’s simple yet effective for savvy shopper.
Most often the have some cool new snowboarding or skateboarding videos playing on their flat screen TV and also awesome tunes pumping from their sound system.
2) Variety
In terms of variety The Circle carries clothing brands like Nomis, DC, Matrix, WESC with snowboarding gear from Stepchild, Forum, DC, Union, Endeavor and more. In the summer this shop caters to the skateboards with brands like DVS, Emerica, C1RCA, Lakai and Chocolate.
If you are looking for brands off the beaten path and not your big name brands go by The Circle because here is where you will find them.
3) Product Pricing
The price of the merch in the shop is relatively the same as any other shop you might find and The Circle rarely has sales. Their sales only occur during the thanksgiving weekend (10% off) and at season end (20% to 25% off). But The Circle employees are cool and you might be able to get a deal from them if you chat them up a bit.
4) Customer Service
The Circle customer service is pretty good and as I mentioned above everyone who works there is cool and knowledgeable. As soon as you walk in the shop you are greeted with a hello or what’s up and the employees are always willing to help you out. But since there is usually one person working the shop, if the shop is busy you might not get the full Circle customer experience.
5) Overall
Overall I really like The Circle because it’s quite different from other shops in Whistler and Vancouver, much like Evolution. They have unique products that you might not find elsewhere and their employees are always willing to help. I usually head into The Circle once a week just to see if there is any new gear especially from Nomis.
Hello fellow snowboarders,
It finally looks like we are getting snow in Whistler over the next couple of days. I have been checking the forecasts for weeks now and wasn't too optimistic that there would be enough snow for opening day like in the past year. I was worried, even though it's early, that it would be a repeat of 2003/2004. But it does look like the snow is on it's way due to the freezing level dropping.
Detailed Whistler Snow Forecast website
Westbeach is a Canadian board shop that started up in 1979 in Calgary and now has two main shops in Vancouver (West 4th & Burrard and in Gastown) and Whistler (Market Place, Village North).
http://www.westbeachtheshop.com/
I usually stroll in to Westbeach on a consistent basis to see what’s new and for their Volcom clothes section…I love Volcom jeans. Recently I purchased new snowboard boots, bindings and a board (that I returned due to cosmetic reasons). So without further adieu here is my detailed review of the Westbeach shops.
1) Shop setup / Visual Merch
All Westbeach stores are setup in the same fashion, clothing / shoes up front and gear in the back. The Whistler store has a more artistic flare because in their front windows they have some cool displays that are well thought out. As for the Vancouver store they only have two front windows and now displays. Both stores are descent sizes with the Vancouver one the bigger of the two making able to carry a lot of gear for the particular season.
Also both shops always have a couple of TVs in them playing the latest snowboarding, surfing or skateboarding movies which is always cool to have, it keeps me in the store that much longer.
2) Variety
Westbeach carries a large variety of gear, clothing and accessories, my favourite being the Volcom section. From a snowboarding perspective they stock Burton, Stepchild, Lib Tech, GNU and 32 boots. They also stock the lasted videos, but this year did seem to have all of them like they did in the past.
In the summer months Westbeach transforms they inventory into skateboarding and surfing gear but still keep the snowboarding products out as well.
3) Product Pricing
The price of the merch in the shop is relatively the same as any other shop you might find and Westbeach rarely has sales. Their sales only occur during the thanksgiving weekend (10% off) and at season end (20% to 25% off)
4) Customer Service
I find Westbeach’s customer service hit and miss. Sometimes you get good service when you are browing in their stores but most of the time you are just ignored. This is very evident in the Whistler store, they’re to cool to help you out!
When I was buying all my gear for this season the guy helping me just did want to be there and it was evident in his attitude. Also they work on commission, so I would think that they would get more effort to help you make the right choice.
With respect to product knowledge I think the Westbeach staff does a good job, as most of their employees ride the gear they are sell. But since they do work on commission do your homework before hand because there is always the risk that they will try to push some product on you that you might not want.
One guy at the Vancouver shop, I think his name was Eric, is extremely helpful and doesn’t care about commission so I would suggest asking around to see if he’s there to help out.
5) Overall
Westbeach is descent board shop that can become a really good board shop if they customer service improves in both stores. Really they only reason I shop there is because of their large selection of Volcom clothes, other wise I think you can get better service else where when purchasing gear.
Ok, I know this is not the movie review you were looking for but I have yet to receive my new snowboarding videos from action sports videos. But fear not I will have a review guaranteed for next Monday. Just to let you know I did dispute the charges through my mastercard and got my money back for the videos that were never sent to me, so I'm just going to go to my local shop and pick them up this week. Check out my experience with ASV here: ActionSportsVideo Review
Now I know this is quite old, as the 2008 Surfer Awards were already handed out but I really think some of these tricks are amazing. So I just wanted to share them with you. The nominees were:
- Dane Reynolds / Dude Cruise (WINNER)
- Dion Agius / Behind The Black Curtain
- Dane Reynolds / Dude Cruise
- Pat Gudauskas / The Pursuit
- Clay Marzo / Just Add Water
More surfing videos on SurferMag.com
Dane Reynolds with his trick in Dude Cruise took took home the award for best trick of 2008....that was suck a sich trick!!!
Also the big winner of the night was no surprise, Kelly Slater for number 1 male surfer. Well deserved since he won his 9th world title this year.
More surfing videos on SurferMag.com
There is something going on in the snowboarding world that is very exciting for me.....a possible Un..Inc reunion.
Recently I read that Gigi left Burton to join Volcom in the quest to conquer the snowboarding world with their introduction to snowboard hardware manufacturing due out in 2009/2010. Also in the past of couple months Burton has let go of JP Solberg, DCP and Romain De Marchi, leaving the door wide open for an Un..Inc reunion on Volcom.
I also noticed on the net this website called, We Are Un..Inc , so something interesting is about to occur in the next couple of months.
Check out a couple of these articles and posts on other blogs to see how things are shaping up for the former Burton Un..Inc'ers
Gigi says Screw off Burton
Gigi Sign with Volcom
So fingers crossed that these guys can reunite on a team that would be amazing because together they bang out awesome video parts. I guess we can look forward to another Volcom snowboarding movie in 09/10 if this reunion occurs.
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