Skiers and Riders: We Have So Much More In Common Than Not

For those who know me, they will all agree that it is an understatement to say that I am proud to be a snowboarder. For me, riding has been the epicenter of my life since before I can remember. Growing up riding around Mount Baker during the pro careers of Craig Kelly, Jamie Lynn, and the Mount Baker Hardcore could be compared to learning to skateboard in and around the Dog Town crew in Venice Beach, or even learning to climb in Yosemite during the peak of the Stone Monkeys. These places are where the souls of their sports were established.
     

Similarly to how the climbers in The Valley had the rangers, and skaters had the police, snowboarders had skiing. How about Jim Zellers being told he had to sit in the back of the city bus on his way to the hill because of his board? (True story.) Or ski areas making riders take a skills test before they were allowed to purchase a lift ticket? Shit, I still can't even ride every resort in the states because of my board. Not that I really want to traverse back and forth across Alta anyways. 

As both of the sports are continuously evolving and finding their own way, I myself am growing up, however slightly. Snowboarding has taught me so much about myself and the ways of the world. It has created opportunities for me to travel from my hometown of Glacier, to six continents as well as the islands of New Zealand, Greenland, and Japan. As I continue to travel and mature (slightly), I begin to look at my fellow skiers in a new light. We have so much more in common than not. Our pursuits to push our sports into new territory has brought us all so much closer—from splitboards being invented to follow skiers out into the greater backcountry areas, to ski Halfpipe and Slopestyle being introduce to the Olympic Games. Look how similar our sports have become.       

"Growing up" and the evolution our sports is the main contributing factor for me working with Teton Gravity Research this season. It is not that snowboarding film crews have become stale, it's simply a new avenue to promote my career and bring our sports together. While I am not the first snowboarder to film with TGR's main ski film, nor the best, I do hope to be the most impactful. 
    

As skiing and snowboarding become increasingly more difficult to partake in, mostly due to the ever increasing effects of climate change, they need each other more than ever before. Our similarities need to be at the forefront of our discussions. Sure, I can still laugh at Ian Mcintosh as he double ejects off a pillow line while filming in BC. However, it's no different than him laughing at my shit show of 1 splitboard, 1 snowboard, poles, and snowshoes, all hanging off my back for that same exact day of shooting. It's just good fun. So moving forward, let's drop the egos and enjoy the turns, because they just might not be around forever.