Video: Ryland Bell Had One Hell of An Alaskan Spring

Ryland Bell has dedicated his life to riding steep spines in the Alaskan backcountry. In the summertime, he's a commercial fisherman, which allows him to chase snow all winter long. Regardless of where he travels, he always returns home for the spring AK spine season. This past year was particularly special and we at TGR are excited to share the highlights from Bell’s time in Alaska. We sat down with Bell to talk about his winter, how he prepares for Alaska, and what’s next.

What did your past winter look like?

RB: I stayed in Squaw Valley for the beginning of the season and they had a great year from December through March. February was insane, but I took off for January. I went to Japan, scored pretty good snow there. It was a pretty poor year for them, but still, 25 feet of snow that month, which to them isn't good, but was fine for me.

I had a great winter but honestly, I'm always just waiting for Alaska. So, unfortunately, Alaska throughout the entire year was just not happening. I got my buddies up there and they're saying it sucks. It sucks. It sucks.

There was a two week period of temperatures ranging around 70 degrees Fahrenheit. Everything melted down. It looked like the season was completely over, but I just decided to still go up there and then had one of the best months of my life. We had 26 days of powder in April, lots of sledding and it all culminated with getting to do some really awesome heliboarding. For me, Haines is really special because I live there and I have a deep connection to that place. To get to experience those mountains in primo conditions is what the rest of the year is all about. There is a lot of training both mentally and physically. To go up there and send it was epic.

What makes Haines special?

RB: Haines is very different than the rest of Alaska because it has a lot of spine riding. Valdez has these big 5,000 foot ramps and it's longer descents. It's a really rad spot, but Haines has shorter descents, just vert walls with lots of super dramatic spine features and snow just barely clinging to the rocks. It's definitely different in that way from a lot of the rest of Alaska.

How do you prepare for these trips?

RB: Well, you need the training to go to Alaska and you have to be strong. For your whole season, you never want to go full bore because you don't want to get hurt, so you're always holding back a little. When I'm not in Alaska I spend time trying to find places that are similar to get ready. I know that I'm going to be in a situation where I'm at the top of a 2,000-foot line, so try and find something like that. Anything with pillows and spines to get the muscle memory maybe sort of to be ready for it to respond when you're in the moment.

How do your years of riding in Alaska benefit you?

RB: For me, it's all cumulative, so when I'm up there and I'm looking at a line that I want to ride, I ask myself if I have been in this situation before. I might remember one time I rode a line that had a fin rib like that. So I'll, I'll look at a line like that and know I need to hit that fin rib, move over and there's going to be a rock on the left. I remember going by one of those cliffs the other day and I know that that's going to look in this way.  You're just constantly building and building and building to be able to get into the situation and feel comfortable and when the conditions line up, you can send it.

Take me through last April.

RB: I haven't had a really good spring in Alaska for almost four years at that point. So it's tough because you don't want to feel this pressure of getting something out of the good cycle we had. So you just take it as it comes. You build up to it, you start with something mellower. So after day one of riding, we got a couple of good lines. Then that next morning we went out and it was unbelievable. It was as good as it gets for snow, stability, and the light was amazing. It was a perfect bluebird sky and we had an awesome day. And then that day I rode this line that I've been wanting to ride since I was a teenager. So it was an epic session.

What’s next for your riding?

RB: Snowboarding for me has just become an obsession where I base my life around. I fish in the summer so that I can take the winters off and then I ride as many days as I can. I'm going to start mellowing out, but it hasn't happened yet. It's almost like the drive and addiction. With Alaska, it takes a certain amount of time to feel comfortable up there and now that I am, I”m not going to stop.