You are currently browsing the monthly archive for December 2006.
WAAAAOOOO what a way to finish the year!
BrOADER is featured in Shralp! episode 53 and we are sooooo stocked! Thanks a million guys!
We are going to drink till we drop now to celebrate this and a crazy 2007!!!
We wish everybody to fullfill their dreams and to enjoy riding the mountains as much as possible! But remember it’s all about having fun!
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Peace. Phil and Nico @ BrOADER
You might remember our previous post “LANDING on your head” where we presented you this brand new headwear company from France called LANDING. At that time we were stocked by this project. We wanted to know more, so we hooked up with Alix, Landing headwear co-owner and founder, for a BrOADER[View].
So ready to learn more about “LANDING”?
As we are all getting ready to celebrate the New Year in style, resorts all over Europe are getting ready for a hectic month of January of high level snowboarding contests!
The Nissan ArctiX is an invitational big mountain freeride contest for skiers and snowboarders.
The event will take place in Tamok, Lapland from 31st of March to 9th of April. Tamok is located in north-western Lapland. Lapland is northern parts of Finland, Sweden and Norway, basically the parts of Scandinavia that are above the Arctic Circle. Lapland is arguably the most exotic part of Europe. It is the land of the midnight sun, the arctic night, the northern lights, and many other natural wonders.
The format of Nissan Arctix is quite simple: during a waiting period of eight days there will, weather and snowconditions permitting, be three contest days on three different mountains, on which the invited riders can do as many runs as they like within a given area. All the runs are judged according to certain criterias, but only the best run from each day is counted to the overall result.
This gives the riders a chance to get a better feel for the snow and the slopes. Having a chance to do more than only one or two runs per day, which is usually the case in freeride contests, also equals that much more fun per day, which anyways is the real purpose of freeriding!
There will be a panel of five judges who will judge every run with each competitor’s best run of the day used for the final results.
Nissan ArctiX is an invitational event but anybody over 18 years of age can leave their application at the official event website www.arctixtamok.com. Send in your application by the end of January and hope for the best!
The UNION binding company is only 2 years old, but they entered the snowboard binding market with fresh ideas, progressive designs and the will to offer to experienced riders the highest performing bindings ever!
The guys behind UNION, supported by their team of riders including Travis Parker, are focused on the products and have worked hard on R&D to come up with some interesting innovations. For example, the extruded aluminium heelcup, which is a standard throughout the collection, garanties longer durability compared to traditional metal heelcups which can bend and lose the original shape if ridden hard.
Because bigger riders need stiffer bindings, the guys increased the amount of fiberglass in the base plates proportionally from M size bindings to XL. And finally, the UNION TrueFit system includes ultra-comfortable ankle and toe straps, ultra-light magnesium buckles and multizone highbacks.
But most of all these bindings almost look like a piece of art, and since they are still quite difficult to find in Europe, if you manage to get your feets in one of those, you’ll be the shit!
Oh and by the way, if you are riding UNION bindings and want to tell us how they feel, leave us a comment! Cheers!
Enjoy is an on-line magazine 100% dedicated to action girls. This mag is all about girls who ride. Wherever they ride : on the ocean, snow, concrete, beds…
There are beautiful pictures for each topic and the full magazine can be seen in the “content” section. For sure readers will not miss the fashion, beauty and boys section.
You will probably enjoy reading Enjoy, and will get impatient waiting for the winter issue. It will come soon…
@BrOADER we received a fabulous gift for Christmas, guess what?
A virtual date with Anne-Flore MARXER.
Indeed this girl is so nice that she agreed to answer our questions. We do not usually share our gifts but we will make an exception and let you enjoy with us this great moment!
Since 1999, skateboard protection brand TSG produces helmets specifically for skaters on the snow. Built with skate roots, the TSG snowboard helmets created a totally new look in the lame winter sport safety business. Backpacks, travel bags, accessories and a small apparel line complete the program. Functionality, quality, design and surprising details are the deciding factors for all TSG products.
This year, they have two promodel helmets in their product line : The Eero Ettala and the Gian Simmen (featured). Both are lightweight head protection for skaters on the snow tricked out with audio headphones.
We took the proven design and features of our evolution skate helmet and transformed it into the most stylish snowboard helmet on the earth. The helmet sits slightly lower and the sides curve around your temples a little more than a regular helmet to provide increased protection and great look. Trust in the ultra lightweighted but strong ABS shell and enjoy the soft inner layer, that is so comfortable like wearing a beanie.
All TSG products can be bought online in their e-shop, so check it out!
The Snowpark Tour is the world’s biggest rookie tour for snowboarders and freeskiers! The sixth edition comprises ten tour stops in Austria, Germany and Switzerland, where contestants can qualify for the finals to be held in Saas Fee from 16 – 18 March 007.
Perfectly groomed snowparks will be available for the next-generation Bonds to demonstrate their skills on kickers and rails. And the standard is high: they shoot off the jumps like Moonraker and grind over the rails like Thunderball. The relaxed jam session format takes the pressure off riders to go for all or nothing in just one or two runs. And no membership in any association is required to start collecting contest experience. The jury is made up of international pros from the Atomic and Quiksilver teams, who also offer coaching on the first day complete with tips for the various tricks.
The tour kicks off in Lech am Arlberg (AUT) on 13 und 14 January 007. Check out the official SPT007 website because registrations are opened! There you can also find all tour dates and have a look at the prices expecting the winners for motivation! The SPT007 Winner also known as James Bond will go to TTR Nanshan Open 08, get a “Rising Star” interview in Snowboarder and an invitation to Spring Battle 07!!!
Shaken, not stirred!
The 5th edition of the Red Bull Hike & Ride will be taking place between 22–25 February 2007 somewhere in Switzerland.
7 two-person teams will compete, and they’ll have only 72 hours to direct, film, and edit their own film.
The following teams have been confirmed for the 2007 Hike&Ride:
Markus Keller & Stephan Maurer (SUI)
Chris Rubens & Eric Crosland (CAN)
Adam Gendle & Johno Verity (GBR)
Laurent Favre & Loïc Collomb-Patton (FRA)
Dimitri Fesenko & friend (RUS)
Fiat Freestyle Team
And the Public team!
It can be you! Apply with a 2-3 minute film, featuring ski and/or snowboard scenes and a brief presentation of the riders. The jury will review the films submitted for the event and determine which team will enter the competition, basing their decision on the quality, originality and creativity of the applications films.
If you are interested in competing in this year’s event, the deadline for applications is 15 January. For more info go here. Good luck!
Yo dawg! Do you wanna ride with steez?
Check out Clast – a fresh new brand of neckwear! They opened a zoo and guess who’s in it? A whole bunch of impressive riders : Eero Ettala the zebra, Gian Simmen the gummibear, Markku Koski the penguin, Nicolas Müller the monkey and latest addition, Sani Alibabic the crow!
Clast has neckwarmers, scarfs, tees and facemasks on which you can write whatever you want dawg. Check it out!
For all you swiss riders reading BrOADER, or anyone planning to come shred the swiss resorts (with some knowledge of german or french though!) check out this great site called rideguide.ch.
In a glimpse on the map, you can get daily updated info about open resorts with nice weather, fresh pow, groomed snowparks…Created your own login, start customising your page with our favorites resorts, check the riding conditions and the webcams, and take part in the user ratings. It simple, accurate, plus you learn geography!
Ok we are back after a Xmas day off! Hope you had a good time, and nice gifts! 😉
Today we want to present you a brand which you should know if you ride in France : Kanabeach!
Kanabeach is a surf streetwear brand from Britanny, on the french Atlantic coast. Since a few years, they have developped a ‘snow division’ with some funky technical clothing. They also have a cool bunch of team riders with David Vincent, the mushroom smurf and tweak master, as team captain!
If you like original clothing and funky colors, check out Kanabeach, available in shops all over Europe and also online worldwide throught their e-shop.
Hello everybody ! Do you know what was the trendiest gift this morning for kids ? No… it is not the new WEE, the latest IPOD or other innovating technological product…
No, No … Back to the roots ! Back to the simple life ! THE SNOW PLAYMOBIL should have been under the tree !!
Let me introduce him :
This guy is 10cm tall, weights 20g, he wears a eavy black integral helmet which allows him to go Big ! A clear screen goggle for foggy sessions, a nice orange waterproof jacket, a brown Gore-tex pant and red gloves.
And what about his board ! it is simply… simple.
We had one this morning @BrOADER, be aware this guy has no limit …
Excepted the one of your imagination !
You want one ? go here
Hello everybody!
Yesterday we met up with an old wise grandpa from the mountains. He told us that usually when it dumps so hard in North America, like it is happening now, it will dump even more in Europe two weeks later…so we trust his words and wish you all a Merry Xmas!
By the way, we spotted Santa Claus riding and he sure can hit rails! Check this video and have a great time!
The BrOADER crew
Isn’t Bern the capital of Switzerland? Yes, but also a new stylish head protection brand from the states! Bern helmets are now available in exclusive shops in Europe. These helmets really look good. More stylish than your average pacman helmet. Check them out Yesterday we were reviewing the Works bindings from Rossignol Snowboards. They are really performant but quite classical. Today we want to focus on two innovations that can be found on bindings this season. Let’s have a look at the new back entry system on the Apo Espresso and the soft heel cup found on the Salomon Relay bindings.
The Relay system looks set to revolutionise what we have come to expect from a soft binding. The cornerstone of the Relay system is the ankle harness. This is based around a heel loop made from flexible material; this gives a 3D tightening around the boot whilst promoting more naturally smooth ankle movements. Allied to this is a Tensor System which is a sliding rod and wire construction that transfers 100% of riding energy on heelside turns direct to the edge. To top off the advanced construction of the Relay the baseplate is constructed of two independent parts. The first part carries the structural elements of the binding, whilst the second part carries the foot. The Relay might be the future of snowboard bindings. Check out the website dedicated to the Relay here.
The Apo Expresso bindings offer a new back entry system. Like Flow bindings they have a folding spoiler. However they also offer a classic two straps design.
The spoiler is released by strapping down a tensor system which then opens up the heel cup like a saloon door!
The binding is light, quite responsive and the feeling is not different from riding with ‘regular bindings’.
We received shiny 06/07 Rossignol Works bindings for our first product review here on BrOADER. So we went to Verbier, Switzerland, to try them out and here is our feedback.
At BrOADER we are scanning the world of snowboarding, and reading feeds about what’s going on in North America right now just go us crazy!!!
Check this out :
The Echo team has been working all day to get ready, and we will reopen Friday morning at 10am with 29″ of new snow! We a plan to leave some powder stashes for the powder hungry, so bring your wide boards.
What some local meteorologists have dubbed the “storm of the year” has blanketed Colorado Ski Country with 37 inches of powder in the last three days, and will continue through tomorrow morning.
Wolf Creek has been buried in 37 inches of snow in the last three days. Durango Mountain has received its fair share with 33 inches of new snow in the last 72 hours, while Silverton and Telluride have seen 31 and 30 inches respectively pile up over the same time period, creating some of the best skiing and riding conditions of the year.
Since here in Europe, it feels more like end of season, BrOADER would like to propose to everybody to : step outside, watch the sky at night, put your hands up in the air, start jumping around, and yell ‘Let it snow, let it snooooow, let it snoooooooooow! aaaaaaaaaahhh!’
Usually the SB Jam in Davos, Switzerland, was the best place to celebrate New Year’s eve! This year sadly the SB Jam is no more. It transformed into the O’neill Evolution ‘Ultimate Freestyle session’ and won’t happen on New Year but the first WE of January. So this year you have an excuse to party on for a whole week! 😉
So once again Davos is ready to host the first 6 star TTR event of the year and the 2007 opus promises to be exceptional : confirmed riders include TTR World Snowboard Tour Champion title-defender Mathieu Crepel (FRA), Finnish foursome Risto Mattila (FIN), Antti Autti (FIN), Janne Korpi (FIN) and Markku Koski (FIN), transition-master Nicolas Mueller (SUI), O’Neill team rider Gian Simmen (SUI), current TTR World Nr 1 Scotty Lago (USA), halfpipe master Markus Keller (SUI), and up-and-coming all-rounder Jean-Jacques Roux (FRA). But the event will be highlighted by the presence of the man himself, legendary Terje Haakonsen!
Make sure to check out the finals of the Superpipe (January, 5th from 4.30 pm) and the Quarterpipe (January, 6th from 4.30 pm) live on stage or in front of your computer here.
www.snowbroader.eu 2006/07 version 