At its core, the Freeride Academy is about learning - just not in a classroom sense. Instead, it brings world-class athletes, certified mountain guides and a bunch of properly motivated snowboarders together for four days of hands-on clinics, shared laps and off-mountain sessions, all built around real terrain, real conditions and real decisions. The Academy's programme covers snowboarding, splitboarding, avalanche safety and photography, with options for all experience levels.
A light behind the window is the latest short movie from man we need a camera. With a stylishly nostalgic use of different film formats, this flick takes us right back to sitting in front of the TV and endlessly rewatching the new snowboard VHS we were lucky enough to get for Christmas. The heat from the boxy CRT display firing up the stoke in our teenage hearts.
After spending the last few years navigating (successfully, so far) the Govy 500, the famed bumper car course of commuters slipping and sliding en route from Portland to Mt. Hood, and awkwardly pausing mid-conversation while driving past silent rock, it is not a stretch to say that the experience of riding at Mt. Hood Meadows starts well before you even step foot onto the slopes.
Having carved up damn near every piste in the Northern Hemisphere, the Korua crew head down under to bring their signature blend of alpine destruction to Australia. Yearning For Turning Vol.12 follows a path that, by now has been well laid out by the Korua crew. But thanks to the relatability of showcasing the joy of the turn (something we all know and love) along with the signature creativity Korua is known for we continue to get fired up with each new installment.
The first day of qualifiers went off with a bang, with Nora Beck hucking backflips off the purple pole-jam while Mae Morelli landed the first butter-pad-to-down-rail transfer - a line many would chase, some successfully, others with heavy slams... This year's course ditched the hip feature at the bottom. A shame - we'd love to see it return, as it previously gave riders like Annika Morgan and Emma Crosby space to showcase style in the air as well as on steel.
Cracking open our breakfast Easter eggs and discovering they were full of mini-eggs is about as surprising as opening a birthday card from your Grandma and pretending you didn't see the cash inside while you read her best wishes. No, you knew the little sugar coated chocolate goodies were there, you just needed to put up the false air of surprise to comfortably indulge in a chocolatey desert to follow your chocolate breakfast.
