Stunning scenery, eye-catching tricks and a few bruises... snowboarding has it all

Imagine, if you will, your working day begins high up in The Alps, not far from Val d'Isère in south east France.

The thick snow crunches underfoot, the clear, crisp air nips at small patches of exposed skin.

To some, the vast landscape stretching as far as the eye can see is best viewed from a warm cabin with a roaring fire. To others, like Jenny Jones, it's a playground.

Welcome to the world of ollies, poptarts and flails. Welcome to the world of snowboarding.

I meet Jenny, one of the best boarders this country has produced, almost 800 miles from where she fell in love with the sport, at the SNO!zone in Milton Keynes. Read More

Shaun White Stoked To Add Action Sports Company To His Portfolio

Shaun White earns about $7 million a year from endorsements, relatively low among professional athletes but a nice piece of change for someone whose main source of consumer awareness comes from skateboarding and snowboarding.

White this week added to his personal cottage industry with the official launch of action sports hard goods line Shaun White Supply Co. The strategy moves White from participant and spokesperson to entrepreneur as the business will supply to consumers and other companies such items as skateboards, helmets, pads, balance boards, 3-in-1 grind rails and ramps. In March, the company will begin to offer BMX Bikes. Read More

Mägert-Kohli and Fischnaller victorious at season's first parallel event

The two race boarders successfully competed against the international field of almost 100 riders coming from 16 countries at SnowWorld Landgraaf, Holland, where this winter's first parallel slalom was hosted. In the women's big final, Mägert-Kohli relegated last year's indoor World Cup winner Ekaterina Tudegesheva (RUS) to the runner-up position. In the battle for third, Marion Kreiner (AUT) had the better end than surprising fourth ranked rider Nadya Ochner (ITA).

On the men's side, Fischnaller was a nose ahead in the duel for victory with his South Tyrol team mate Aaron March (ITA). Andreas Prommegger (AUT) prevented an Italian podium sweep by edging off Meinhard Erlacher (ITA) to fourth in the small final. Read More

SNOWBOARD STOCK SALE IN MAYRHOFEN

HOTZONE.TV, Insider Sportshop and Kini RB will be holding a snowboard sale to clear their stocks in Mayrhofen’s Christophorous bus garage, October 21 – 22 2011. If you’re after new gear but can’t afford full-price new kit, then peep this…

The HOTZONE Snowboard Pro Shop Gerlos, Mayrhofen and Schwaz, the Insider SportshopVorderlanersbach and the Kini Shop from Wiesing will be selling off any remaining snowboard product shortly to clear their stocks for the brand new winter stuff. Read More

Judging set for 2014 Olympics

It doesn't sound like the mandatory straight air is going anywhere, but a number of other changes have been made to snowboarding's Olympic judging system since Shaun White and Torah Bright won halfpipe gold in 2010. Those changes, as well as the system as a whole, were discussed at last week's annual International Ski Federation (FIS) fall meetings in Zurich, Switzerland, as the sport creeps ever closer to the 2014 Sochi Olympics.

The mandatory straight air has long been a (controversial) staple of FIS halfpipe competitions, but in an interview conducted after last week's meetings, FIS snowboard judging chairman Ola Sundequist said he doesn't anticipate FIS nations will vote for its removal before the Olympics, which is the only way it'd be eliminated. Read More

New technology for riders

NORTHAMPTON, Mass. (WWLP) - Now that the fall weather is finally here avid skiers and snowboarders are looking forward to the snowy months.

Boards are being made more ride able, accessories are flashier, and the boots are more user friendly.

Dave Durfey, the owner of Credo Snow and Skate Shop, told 22News that there’s a lot of technology changing, especially boots and the way boards are made. New designs are allowing riders to get in and out of bindings and boots much easier. Bindings are also being made less clunky and more aerodynamic. The new technology is making snowboarding equipment safer and more convenient. Read More

Gardener finishes 14th at indoor World Cup snowboard race

Darren Gardener had a career-high 14th-place finish at a World Cup snowboard event Thursday at an indoor parallel slalom race in Landgraaf, Netherlands.

Gardner, a 21-year-old from Burlington, Ont., led the men’s team in a race dominated by Italian riders.

Rolland Fischnaller captured the gold in the season-opening race, with Aaron March winning silver and Andrea Prommegger winning bronze in the unique indoor race.

Jasey-Jay Anderson of Mont-Tremblant, Que., was 17th, while Matthew Carter of Maryhill, Ont., was 33rd. Read More

Where to ski and snowboard in Hong Kong

We Hong Kongers always get what we want.

And if it's snowboarding while it's 27 degrees Celsius and pouring rain outside that we want, we get it at one of these awesome indoor slopes.

Hong Kong has two indoor ski and snowboard outfits. The latest and snazziest is Play, which opened this week in Kwun Tong.

The large warehouse space is set up for parties and special occasions. Despite two hulking ski slope simulators, the space can comfortably accommodate 100 guests.

A cafe run by Zambra and a stage with a large sound system make Play party-ready. Read More

Snowbomb events coming to Bay Area

The SnowBomb Ski and Snowboard Festivals are coming to the Bay Area in a couple of weeks, an annual rite of passage for the NorCal snowy set.

The SnowBomb folks, who mix events and movies with the usual Ski Fair fare, will be at San Francisco’s Fort Mason on Nov. 5th and 6th. The following weekend, Nov. 12th and 13th, the show moves South to the Santa Clara Convention Center. Read More

Dakota shows winning style on the slopes

She's only been competing for two years, but that's been plenty long enough for Dakota Craig to make her mark in the snow.

Dakota, 16, has completed a successful snowboarding season, winning three national titles, and is striving to make the grade at international level in the future.

A year 12 student at Waikato Diocesan School for Girls, Dakota contested the Grand Prix Junior Nationals at Wanaka late last month, in five events in the 14-to-16 age group.

Although she came second in the big mountain freeride and third in the half pipe, Dakota took national honours because only Australian competitors finished ahead of her. Read More

Enter to Win a Ride Agenda Snowboard or Pair of Atomic Smoke Skis

Sun & Ski Sports is hosting two sweepstakes in the month of October to give winter sports enthusiasts a chance to win either a Ride Agenda snowboard, valued at $299.99, or a pair of Atomic Smoke skis, valued at $399.99. Winners will be chosen in the first two weeks of November, just in time for the upcoming winter season.

Sun & Ski Sports is only hosting these sweepstakes until October 31st, so consumers will want to act fast. Whether interested in the snowboard, the skis, or both, the entry process is simple. All participants need to do is visit the Atomic Ski Sweepstakes page and/or the Ride Snowboard Sweepstakes page, click on “Enter Sweepstakes,” and fill out a short form. Read More

Oakley Releases Revolutionary New Snow Goggle

FOOTHILL RANCH, Calif., Oct 11, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Oakley, Inc. today announced the release of AIRBRAKE(TM), the world's first snow goggle to take advantage of SwitchLock(TM) Technology. A revolutionary innovation available only from Oakley, SwitchLock Technology makes the process of lens changing hassle-free and fast while maintaining optimal impact protection and ensuring optical performance is in no way compromised when the lens is mounted -- a potential issue with ordinary interchangeable lens systems. Read More

Las Vegas Ski & Snowboard Resort first ski area to open in U.S.

LAS VEGAS — Las Vegas Ski & Snowboard Resort (LVSSR) became the first ski area in the United States to open its lift served terrain for the 2011/12 season on Saturday, Oct. 8, 2011 at 7:30 a.m.

Wolf Creek Ski Area that’s located in Pagosa Springs, Colo. was second. LVSSR, which is located about an hour from downtown Las Vegas opened Chair 3 with 12-inch base; nine inches was a result of recent storms and the additional four inches was from LVSSR’s snowmaking effort.

LVSSR’s management reports that several hundred guests took advantage of the early opening, including out of state skiers and snowboarders. Chair 3, which served an all-terrain park for skiing and snowboarding, ran on Saturday until 4 p.m. and again on Sunday, Oct. 9 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Read More

Gear: Crab Grab

Necessity is the mother of all invention, and never did the old adage hold truer than with the new brand Crab Grab. Fathered by High Cascade's own Preston Strout and born on the perpetually slushy slopes of Mt. Hood, Crab Grab is a new traction pad company. Traction pads? Confused? Think: stomp pad evolved.

Strout explains: "Most stomp pads are pretty heinous -- these lame chunks of plastic you'd expect to find on a rental board. Riders like Scott Stevens and Jesse Burtner have been cutting up cheap foam stomp pads for years to put all over their boards as grip. They'd raid the HCSC demo center and hoard all the ones they could find. With Crab Grab, we set out to create an abundant, high quality alternative to cutting up cheap foam pads." Read More

2012 U.S. Winter Youth Olympic Team

The U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association (USSA) nominated 15 young athletes to the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) for the 2012 Winter Youth Olympic Games following the final qualifier for nordic combined and ski jumping at the Flaming Leaves Festival in the Olympic village of Lake Placid. The inaugural Winter Youth Olympic Games is slated for Jan. 13-22 in Innsbruck, Austria.

The Winter Youth Olympic Games is an international multi-sport event held under the authority of the International Olympic Committee that will take place every four years just the Olympic Winter Games. The USOC will send a team of more than 60 athletes to represent the U.S. in Innsbruck across 15 sports and 63 events.

The 15 young athletes between the ages of 15-18 will be among 1,057 athletes from 80 countries competing in alpine skiing, halfpipe skiing and snowboarding, slopestyle snowboarding, skicross, cross country, ski jumping and nordic combined. Read More

Snow Storm Opens U.S. Ski and Snowboard Season

Roughly 1,500 skiers and snowboarders made the trip for opening day on Saturday at Wolf Creek in Pagosa Springs, Colo., where the previous record early opening was on October 26, 2007. . Excitement was in the air as the people amassed early, vying for the first lift tickets with hopes of the first lift ride in Colorado, on possibly the earliest opening date in Colorado history. Some even slept in their vehicles in the parking lot to gain that extra edge. With eight inches falling overnight to complement the three feet already on the ground, skier and riders had much to be happy about.

A snow depth of 35 inches at the summit and 32 inches midway is quite respectable, considering many aspen trees still have their beautiful foliage. The three lifts open at Wolf Creek over the weekend serviced a variety of beginner, intermediate and expert terrain, including the ski area’s Alberta Peak and neighboring Step Bowl. Read More

THE NORTH FACE SNOWBOARDERS DAMON HAYLER AND CHUMPY PULLIN ENJOY FRESH SPRING SNOW IN NEW ZEALAND

Making the most of the end of the 2011 Winter season, The North Face snowboarders Damon Hayler and Alex Chumpy Pullin spent the last ten days in New Zealand, in search of fresh powder, big lines and some Kiwi adventure.

After waiting for the weather window to appear, they hit the road to head off to the kiwi club field of Temple Basin, near Arthurs Pass on New Zealands South Island. With mint conditions on arrival, they couldnt be more stocked.

They discover what makes riding the club fields of New Zealand such a unique experience, from the lift accessed big mountain terrain, humble hut accommodation, majestic landscapes and cheeky Kea birds. Read More

Urban snowboarding in Occidental Park

Ah, autumn in Seattle, with that nip in the air. Fallen leaves dot the sidewalks, and snowboarders turn Occidental Park into a "giant snow cone."

Organizers of the sixth annual Downtown Throwdown Saturday built a giant ramp in the Pioneer Square park and covered it with 80,000 pounds of crushed ice, which they sprinkled with salt.

And as the "snow" melted, about 25 professional snowboarders took turns making 20-second runs down the ramp — enough time to skid against a rail, jump off the edge of the slope or do a quick back flip before it was time to unstrap their boots, climb the stairs and do it again.

Judges watched two one-hour "jams" and handed out $10,000 in prize money. Read More

SKI AND SNOWBOARD CELEBRITIES TO ATTEND BUCKMAN’S WHITEHALL GRAND OPENING

What: Buckman’s Ski & Snowboard Shop is hosting an event to celebrate the Grand Opening of their store in Whitehall, PA. The top athletes in the ski and snowboard industry will be at the new store signing autographs, giving away prizes, and showing their support for Buckman’s. In the evening, Seth Morrison’s film “The Ordinary Skier” will be shown on a large outdoor screen followed by Burton’s film “Standing Sideways.” This event takes place during our annual pre-season/tent sale. While customers are meeting ski and snowboard legends, they can also shop our biggest sale of the year. Read More

Shaun White Supply Co. launches Thurs

SAN DIEGO -- Want to own a skateboard like the one Shaun White used to win his latest X Games gold medal?

The action sports superstar is expanding his empire by launching the Shaun White Supply Co., which will sell skateboards, BMX bikes, helmets and pads, ramps and grind rails in sporting goods stores across the country and online.

The 25-year-old White said his product line is a logical step in a two-sport career in which he's dominated some of the sickest halfpipes in the world, from Los Angeles to Turin to Vancouver.

"The nice thing is, since I've gotten older, I have the mindset to take on things like this. When I won at Torino, I was 19. I mean, if the awards were at a bar, they wouldn't have let me in," White said, referring to winning the first of his two Olympic gold medals in snowboarding. "You can finally do all the projects that you've wanted to do, not that you have to do." Read More

White promises that his products will be better than what he used while growing up in Carlsbad in northern San Diego County.