It was Saturday morning, the race to get the car packed up and head to the mountain started at about 8AM. I look everything over before shutting the trunk, looks good, “we got everything” I told my girlfriend, so we take off. Three hours later in the parking lot, I’m gearing up to head on out and guess what, I didn’t pack my good jacket. I figure I can survive with my skimpy fleece, my girlfriend thinks otherwise.  I end up heading to the pro shop and luck out on a deal for a Mount Washington branded outer shell - $80 tax in. Better then dropping $450 on a resort-priced name brand.

Sixty or so minutes later, we’re waiting inside for my little cousin to get her rental gear on. I go outside to catch some fresh air and guess what. My board is gone.  With brand new Forum 1.8 bindings I got Thursday afternoon to test out (these toe caps are much nicer and better built, more on them later).

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How could someone get fined a half mil for snowboarding you ask? Well, if you play for the NBA and your contract states that you can not participate in any extreme sports, skiing being one of those, then you could get dinged. Especially if you get injured. Since the two sports are so similar, the NBA went ahead with the fine, 10% of Vladimir Radmanovic of the Los Angeles Lakers $5.2 million salary.
Via Globe & Mail

The Snowboarding debut at the Canada Winter Games concluded yesterday with some amazing results. 2010 Olympic Winter Games are just around the corner, and the Canadian Snowboard Federation is building these young lads up to kick some serious ass.

“Inclusion in the Canada Winter Games finally fills what has been a huge system gap for snowboarding for a decade,” said CSF Chairman and coach of team Nova Scotia, Steve Fairbairn. “It’s the missing piece of the jigsaw that will give our athletes a clearer pathway to excellence and our provinces some of the tools they need to help them progress. We’re very excited to be a part of the Games and we’re looking forward to some great competitions in PGS and Halfpipe.”

Check the full results from both the men and women’s events after the break.

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Freestyle Snowboarding will kick off today at the Canada Games debut in Whitehorse, Yukon. The Snowboarding Giant slalom with Mens and Womens taking place on Mount Sima, will be the first set of Snowboarding events, with the half pipe beginning tomorrow.

Natasha Burgess is the youngest provincial freestyle coach in Canada, at age 21, she is also the only female Snowboarding coach to lead a team at the Canada Games.

“A few of the provinces — B.C., Alberta, Quebec and Ontario — have half-pipes for most of the year, and they have super-pipes (five-to-six metres) which is our actual event,” Burgess said.
Via The ChronicleHerald

I had a chance to grab the latest 2007 Forum Recon Bindings and give them a run. In case you didn’t know, Forum is made by Burton, just an alternate brand that gets love from Jake Welch, Eddie Wall, Jake Blauvelt and the rest of the Recon team.

So the 2007 models are based on the 2006 framework, the padding was redesigned on the Toe Cap, the heel and highback reinforced, and adjustability has been improved.

Jump over for the rest of the review.

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Jasey Jay Anderson is back on top. Anderson, 31, Canada’s snowboarding veteran, and winner of more World Cup titles than anyone else, stepped back up to the top of the podium at today’s Parallel Giants Slalom race in Sungwoo, Korea, for the first time in two years.

“Jasey Jay started off ok today, and as the day went on, the conditions became more in his favour,” said Canadian Alpine Snowboard Team Head Coach, Mark Fawcett. “”The course had bigger banks and soft snow, so it was really an athlete’s battle, which is a huge strength for him.”

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A sad story about a boy who died idoing jumps off a ramp behind his home in Durham Ontario. Kyle Lamb, 13, tried to make a jump but landed awkwardly on his head and neck just less then three meters away from the ramp. Kyle wasn’t wearing a helmet. Our prayers go out to him and his family, ride safe people.
Read [Canada.com]

Ya aww ya.. Ottawa native, now livin’ it up in Whistler, Crispin Lipscomb ripped up the halfpipe in Laax, Switzerland, at the Burton European Open, and took top spot. His winning run rocked the house, with a frontside 1080, cab 700, frontside 900, backside 900 and huge backside alley-oop! East Coasters are celebrating too, as Sarah Conrad, from Halifax, rode strong with a backside air, frontside air, backside air, air to fakie, cab 500 to switch alley-oop 500 and took the silver medal on the women’s side at the same event.

“I just had a great day. The sun came out after a long storm and my teammate Sarah Conrad was doing so well and we were feeding off each other!” said Lipscomb. “I am really happy for a good result in Europe, giving me major wins now in Canada, USA, Japan and finally Europe! Go Canada!!”

Maëlle Ricker of Whistler, took the bronze in the Boardercross event. Another Whistler native, Mercedes Nicoll also turned in a top performance, taking home sixth in the Women’s Snowboard SuperPipe.

Also over at the Nokia FIS Snowboard World Cup tour, rookie Matt Morison from Burketon, Ontario, ripped up the Parallel Slalom course in Nendaz, Switzerland and took home the bronze medal. In his final race, he took down veteran Siegfried Grabner, and made his mark on the World Cup tour, with his first podium finish.

Great job!

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That means a huge chunk of cash and prizes over the weekend to fearless halfpipe and snowboardcross athletes out there. The Canadian Open Snowboard Tour (COST) is hitting Mont Tremblant this weekend. Up-and-coming Freestyle and Snowboardcross athletes will be competing on January 27th and 28th in the TELUS Halfpipe and Right Guard Extreme Snowboardcross events, with $7,500 up for grabs for the winners.

More details after the jump…

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Quiksilver, the brand we all love and enjoy, has partnered with Plantronics to integrate some badass Bluetooth in their 2007/2008 line of snow wear. The Quiksilver Double Daffy Snow Jacket (pictured) adds Bluetooth with stereo sound and is iPod ready (supports other MP3 players too), and of course compatible with your Bluetooth mobile phone to take calls. The speakers are integrated into the hoody, these will go for $370US.

A couple other goodies they will be releasing, but no pictures sorry, are the Quiksilver Pulse Helmet for men and the Roxy Shiver Helmet for girls, both with Bluetooth at a pricey $249.95. Then there is the Roxy Teen Angel Snow Jacket, same functionality as the mens, for $340 US.

More pictures after the jump..

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Burton is hosting a demo tour at a bunch of places around Canada, try out their latest gear before you buy.

The Burton Demo Tour is coming to a resort near you! With hundreds of stops across North America the Burton Demo Tour is the largest consumer demo in the snowboard world. Come test drive the latest Burton gear for FREE, where it matters most - on snow!! Just bring an ID and credit card and you can take any Burton demo gear out for a ride. Under 18? Be sure to bring along a parent to sign the necessary releases. Click on your state below for all the details on the demos taking place at a resort near you!

Check out the locations in Alberta, British Columbia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec after the jump.

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I don’t know what to make of it, but this company out of Australia has had these Wheelman Bushpig’s for quite some time, now they are getting more popular in north america.. 20mph top speed isn’t too shabby, it looks like a smooth ride on sand, kinda like carving in the snow. Check out the video and more pics after the jump. Some stores online sell this badboy for $900 US!!

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The Canadian Snowboard Federation today announced the roster for the Canadian team that will be competing at the 2007 Nokia Snowboard FIS World Championships in Arosa, Switzerland.

“Canada has a strong team heading into the World Championships this year,” says Martin Jensen, Director, High Performance Program, CSF. “Everyone has been training very hard on and off the slopes to prepare, and I think we’re ready to deliver some great results.”

See the full roster after the jump. Goodluck guys and gals!

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Giro has the latest helmet for you to get your groove on while cuttin up the snow. They call it the Bad Lieutenant, and it looks just as bad as it did back in WW2, with a few differences of course. They put a pair of speakers in the ear muffs for you to easily connect your MP3 player of choice, and i’m sure this model isn’t as heavy as the military issue bomb-blast protectors they used back in the day. Price is about US $75 which is pretty decent.

Read via Giro and The Coloradoan.