G3 athlete, splitter, and friend of splitboard.com Joey Vosburgh recently became an ACMG guide using his splitboard! Congrats Joey!
[dropcap size=small]T[/dropcap]here has always been a harmless rivalry between skiers and snowboarders. The joking battle between friends for which is best; defending your “team” and mocking the other. So on the firs tday of one of my courses, when the lodge owner talking about what it takes to be a good guide joked “and if you’re a snowboarder, you might as well go home right now!”, I laughed it off.I had spent the past 8 years touring hard, mainly with skiers and had stopped feeling inferior. If anything the jokes motivated me to prove them wrong. Pushed me to break more trail, to be the fastest at my transitions, and to ski my split when it would save time. So when the Association of Canadian Mountain Guides (ACMG) changed it’s policy on splitboard’s in the Ski Guide certification I was excited. I had the opportunity to show that I could meet the very high standards of the ACMG and prove that I could perform to the standard or better no matter what tool I decided to strap on my feet.
The reality is that there are differences beyond one plank vs two. For example, skiers and snowboarders use terrain differently. So having snowboard guides makes sense for an industry in which a growing portion of the clientele are snowboarders. The ACMG was onto this and had fully welcomed the use of splitboards for the Ski Guide courses and exams. They seemed interested and even excited about me being there.
Continue reading the rest of the story on the G3 blog here:
Look for more from Joey Vosburgh soon!
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