The Middle/Path Project Episode Three – “Knowledge is Powder”

Beyond Boarding is a crew of snowboarders out of BC that truly inspire. From shredding full winters with no fossil fuel consumption, to helping the less fortunate in third world countries, these guys are working to make the world a better place. We linked up with David MacKinnon, one of the co-founders, and headed north for powder and a hunger for knowledge. 

Our plan was to link up with a friend of David’s and take a look into his off grid home in Northern BC. Just outside of Smithers, BC lives the Egenolf family. Their home runs off of waste veggie oil, solar energy, and wood gasification. They have built their own electric cars and they are currently running other vehicles on used veggie oil. 

We learned a lot about sustainable energy and how we can apply it easily into our own lives. Just on the other side of town was the Hankin-Evelyn rec area, an area that allows access only by foot. With groomed trails for splitboarding and warming huts scattered amongst the sleeping giants, we had hit the jack pot. 

We splitboarded into the late hours and found a small taste of what terrain the area had to offer. Our hungry minds were soaking in information and our bodies were enjoying some much needed time in the mountains. We headed back home with much more than just our hunger for snow satiated. Knowledge is powder.

-Ian Wood, The Middle Path Project