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believe that for some "extreme" riders (a.k.a. Travis rice) Are taking This hole backcountry thing as a chalenge and they want to fight it with their money not their abilities. They will ride a heli to the top and go down something that would take an average Guy two days and a hell of alot of skill to get to the top of. They are missinghalf the point of Backcountry riding.

^^^Perhaps you haven't seen Deeper? Rice spent about a month camped on a glacier hiking and riding lines when it wasn't dumping. Doesn't get much more backcountry than that. He's just trying to expand the contest scene. I find this type of contest way more exciting than the typical x-games type setup. As for calling it backcountry...ski areas nowadays market inbounds terrain as backcountry. It's just kinda a buzzword now to get people excited.

Ive seen deeper...Thought it was great. You have an excellent point.. Perhaps we need to rename the real "backcountry"

So tried to watch the Red Bull Supernatural.... got about 20 minutes in before the played out 'mainstream contest scene' & commentary totally killed what was probably some off the hook riding. I'm guessing part of the reason I'm so stoked on splitboarding is that it can do away with the points, the competition and whatever else makes snowboarding a sport and become so much more.

I absolutely love watching many of the riders who participated in Supernatural and I totally get the significant contribution competition has had to legitimizing snowboarding. For many of us we wouldn't be riding without contests & events that shaped early snowboarding. But to continue to propose that competition, especially something as unnatural as Supernatural, as though it were the future of this lifestyle does it a disservice.

How many of us have access to the resources available for Supernatural? Hell, how many of the pro riders that participated have regular access to those resources? Supernatural and the events that are no doubt going to follow are and going to be quite singular and exclusive. That isn't snowboarding to me and I don't think that is snowboarding to most everyone else, nor should it be the image that is projected to the mainstream consumer.

Leeward Cinema's 'My Own Two Feet' released in 2008 was much of the worlds first look at what splitboarding and backcountry snowboarding had quietly evolved to be in the shadows of big contest riding, world tour film projects and helicopters filming other helicopters filming riders.... But more than just act as a puff piece for a small segment of the snowboarding market, the underlying message showcased what snowboarding really is to many of the pros, to the street riders, to park & pipe riders, to just us regular folks. Fun.

That's it, snowboarding is fun. It doesn't need to be any more than that. It doesn't need rules. It doesn't need points. It doesn't need cameras, commentators or a stadium full of fans. It doesn't need helicopters, film budgets or logging crews to build a 'natural' backcountry playground. However you get up the mountain; chair, sled, snowcat or split board it doesn't matter. The only requirement is that it is fun. Hell, even that can be a stretch some days. Perhaps snowboarding can even just be, no is or isn't.

Or maybe I'm just a kook in the woods, watching the world go by, who doesn't get it.

the full contest is on unofficial networks. the coverage of the contest was pretty lame. too much blather, just show the runs damnit.

the idea is super cool, looks like the contest was enjoyed by all the riders, it is way cooler to watch than a groomed park run and it really shows what it takes to link up freestyle tricks on a big pow slope. they were going huge into powder landings.

what's not to like.

should it be done on public lands or with significant environmental impacts - NO.

I miss OCD...he would break down the rational, emotional, logical, physiological, psychological, pseudological, existential, fatalistic, impacts, implications and innuendos of this issue and all other ancillary axioms presented.

I was pissed when they cut short terje's run...and Devun Walsh...both were the pioneers in the backcountry "video park" line and that contest wouldn't have existed without them.

Overall I enjoyed the contest. Made the riders critically think instead of the groomed treadmill stock runs in the other contests.

The hollier than thou smug, naive, elitism of the OP and a lot of posters is saddening. Go and help a fellow human being, help yourself and dig deeper and get some real education before you waste your time worrying about some trees. Guess what there are plenty of trees and they're doing just fine.

This is a matter of aesthetics and not ethics. In the long span everything will be folded back into the mantle of the earth. The planet is here for man's enjoyment, smile and be happy and stop worrying about how some trees or frogs or bees are feeling.

George Carlin on this subject:
http://youtu.be/EjmtSkl53h4

Also if you really want to learn something take an hour and step back from that caustic wave of contemporary 'environmentalist' culture i.e. human hatred, hatred for everyone that doesn't look and think like you because you know what's best for Gaia.

Murray Rothbard on Conservation and Property Rights - open up your mind and you'll be surprised at what happens
http://youtu.be/kPy9j3vtKCs

^^^^ Really?



Wow, that's quite an intelligent design. Thanks God for putting all this wilderness here for one species to enjoy and squander, at the expense of all the other species.



Yes, to answer questions of wilderness impact and environmental degredation, we should look to a standup comedian for guidance.

Wait, you want WHO to take you seriously?

Yea I'm not sure where naive elitism fits into conservation. Keep on hating on the haters though, that's a great way to make a point. You just go burn some forests down or whatever it is you like to do. Don't worry we've got plans to pick up the slack of individuals who don't think their carbon footprint is relevant. If I had it my way I'd ship you to china to make my snowboard boots and huff carbon monoxide. That might help your perspective.

I am glad the OP started this thread. It is important that we think very carefully about what kind of actions are appropriate in the backcountry, and what are not. I have not seen the Super Natural, as this style of riding is of no personal interest to me (I still respect the athletes who do it), but I am concerned that young riders may be inspired to cut trees, and build "features" in backcountry areas where such things are inappropriate (any public lands). That said, I have, on occasion, removed a few low branches here and there in a couple of local stashes to make them a little more rideable, and in places like Vermont, I know illegal thinning of powder stashes is a somewhat common practice, but such practices are kept very low key, secret, and are the opposite of Super Natural in many senses.
I love to ride featured terrain in the backcountry: that is, I love to find terrain which features natural banks, lips, quarter pipes, interesting tree lines, cliffy faces, drops, etc. But a big part of the allure is seeking out and finding these areas which already exist, not creating them. I think it is very important to stress that large scale alterations of the landscape are not appropriate on public lands in the backcountry. Private land, sure, go ahead and have at it with the landowners full permission, and this where Super Natural seems a little odd if it is truly billed/marketed as a "Natural" or "Backcountry" phenomena.

One other thing:

"Guess what there are plenty of trees and they're doing just fine."

The above statement is in error, and I would suggest that the poster who made it re-consider what they were saying, and perhaps educate themselves a bit about de-forestation and the resulting problems for the worldwide environment. While I do not believe that we need to worry about snowboarders cutting down so many trees that it creates a vast environmental problem in and of itself, it is generally ignorant to promote the idea that deforestation is not a global environmental problem.

"Don't worry we've got plans to pick up the slack of individuals who don't think their carbon footprint is relevant. If I had it my way I'd ship you to china to make my snowboard boots and huff carbon monoxide. That might help your perspective."

By god man, I would never use violence against you but you're so quick to pull out the sword.

This is a futile discussion and I am just as bad as the OP. I apologize to anyone that has had to read this drivel, I wasted my time and yours.

Good vibes to all, shred on. posting.php?mode=reply&f=2&t=13131#

I watched part of it a while ago, and it reminded me of something... do you remember the game SkiFree that used to come with Windows? I think they have created a real-life snowboard version of it.

There is one thing missing at the end: You can get ski free here: http://ski.ihoc.net/