A.M. wax up. Photo: J. Traynor

It does not take much to get me out the door and riding if I am feeling healthy and have the time available. All it took for my step-brother-in-law and Clif Bar athlete John Traynor was a text message a few days in advance.  His suggestion that we head out my backdoor into the spring snow was exactly what I needed to hear. So we met up early on a recent warm but overcast April Sunday morning for coffee and a hearty breakfast of huckleberry pancakes and maple syrup. Some wax was applied to the boards and brains before heading out to the south summit elevation of about 5,500 ft. We loaded our gear into my beat up 4runner and rolled up the road until the snow became too deep to drive.

                                Drive -n- Slide. Photo: T. Feuling

As we unloaded and readied our packs for the hike a truck loaded with performance snow-machines pulled up. It was my neighbors and they were headed up the same route we were intending to hike more or less and offered us a ride when they caught up. I said "sure!" and we started walking. The snowpack was firm so no snowshoes were needed. I did not even have to put the snow shoes on once the entire day. JT was strapped into his tele-boards and skinning. I had my 165cm Sims/Edmunson sub and Edmunson Chillerdeck strapped to my pack. We were step for step until our first rest break. The sun was now out and the day was getting warmer. Off came the layers and JT offered me a can of Bud Light he had hauled up. It was Sunday and warm so of course I accepted. We guzzled and continued on up the snowbound logging road with t- shirts and sunscreen on. Soon we heard the roar of the neighborhood snow-mobile posse. They stopped and after strapping JT's skis on the sled (my boards rode without interference on my pack) we each jumped on one and rode 2 at a time "Canadian" style. I wish I had photos of the trip up! When riding in this manner one guy becomes the left hand steerer and brake operator, each holds onto the strap in the middle, and the other guy is right hand driver with throttle duty. It is always full throttle with my neighbors and we flew up the trails and onto the higher slopes. Once to the higher slope it was absolutely wide open and even with both of us leaning fully forward the front end lifted and we wheelied for several hundred vertical feet. Next time we go I promise to take video and photos, it is a rush! It is also a lot faster and once you summit there is more time and energy for some laps and a nice long 2,000+ foot descent.

Surly bunch of 'biler's looking towards north summit & Schweitzer. Photo: T. Feuling

Now that we were on top of the south summit and looking east over the expansive Lake Pend O' Reille we decided to have a quick bite to eat, put the gear on and ready for some runs. My pow-board from Mark at Chillerdecks has quick release trucks on it for easy pack hauling and board transfers. So I easily located the pins and secured the top deck to the sub. I affixed my leash to my belt, strapped on my now super light pack and was ready to hike over for the first lap. JT followed on his tele's. We selected a semi-tree'd meadow overlooking the lake and dove in. The snow was pretty good! It took a few turns to get the feel of the heavier and slower snow but luckily for me I had put on a good coat of warm weather wax and my board transitioned pretty well all things considered.  After a couple of laps we decided to hike out a bit further south and descend from there. JT went first and I watched him effortlessly link deep knee'd slush puppy turns down and into the cover of the trees. I went next and discovered the surfy selkirk snow was still holding up pretty well due to the light cloud cover that had moved in and a semi cool breeze. Down we went JT tele'ng and me sliding strapless. It was a hoot. There were no tracks and we hit each meadow section at the top in the perfect spot for wide open laid out turns. Even the tighter and sometimes tracked out "Shakedown Street" was absolutely trackless. We both had huge smiles going as we headed into the lower tree sections which again had great snow that was very turnable. Some stuff was sticking out like rocks, trees, stumps, etc but the cover was just good enough that it was never really sketchy and each open shot we found was a blast to ride.

JT carving through the lower slopes. Photo: T. Feuling

JT happily pops out from the trees onto the logging road to ski back out to the truck. Photo: T.Feuling

 
I was amazed at how well a pow-board does in terms of spring-time backcountry travel. You could not get a more light-weight set up. My reshaped sub deck with aluminum trucks and all wood top deck weigh next to nothing and could even be made lighter. The boots I use for spring riding are Patagonia with Capilene and they are very comfortable, water tight and light-weight. My riding boots seem especially light when compared with any backcountry ski or snowboard boot even AT boots. I used one ski pole to help navigate and pole down through the lower treed sections and two poles to get me out on the flat spots and had no trouble. On the flatter sections of the road out I was able to at times turn myself facing completely forward with both feet side by side and pointed downhill (like a mono ski!) and pole along at a good rate of speed (generally keeping up with tele skier). I was very impressed as I had not really planned that much or had even thought of how it would be on the slog back to the rig. It was pretty much effortless and when we had to do a creek crossing or there was a dirt patch it was just a piece of cake to stop, hop off the board, get through the obstacle , throw it back down - hop on and ride. No binding fuss or boot adjustment for walking / descending. The pow-board will prove to be a versatile bc tool in the not too distant future.

Toby rides unstrapped in untracked Selkirk slush. Photo: J. Traynor

Using a pole to help descend thru lower slopes & push thru the flats . Photo: J. Traynor

We made it down the road and back to the 4runner mid-afternoon. The sun sinking as we headed back to the cabin. JT had brought some tasty micro-brews that we sampled while savoring the days events. And as I post this journal entry I  remember how I was thinking that day would be my last on snow for the season. It was warm and the forecast seemed to point to the real beginning of spring. However, the last week has seen low temps and snow falling. The last 3 out of 5 days here in North Idaho have seen falling snow with most of it coming quite heavily. The forecast for tonite is... more snow in the mountains and the valleys. Lucky for me I was able to squeek in a quick trip to the coast for a day of sunshine and southern-hemi surf. I'll have photos and text posted on that soon. But, in the meantime I might just get my gear ready for the possibility of a few runs in the freshie's tomorrow morning!

Mark E. schralping the bc. Photo: Guibert

The snow has returned to the mountains of northern Idaho and southern British Columbia. Folks are smiling, the air has been cold, flakes are phat and even the sunshine came out to play. Now it is snowing, oops, I mean dumping again! There has been a certain strap - less innovator and consummate pow - surfer that has been out getting the goods.

Mark is the owner, designer and fabricator at Chillerdecks. Mark has almost single-handedly re-started a craze that was pretty much forgotten. At least around the inland northwest he has had a significant influence on the re-birth or potentially even the birth of this sport. Mark has a real job too. He builds award winning furniture that is found in high-end homes and galleries across the globe. His hobby and passion is Chillerdecks which make the top decks, trucks and even sub decks for his strap - less creations. He has ridden just about every shape  imaginable and owns a very impressive quiver of pow - boards. I would venture to say that his stable is as large as anyone's in the sport.

This is 1/2 of Mark's collection

Mark's backyard is shred heaven. It has half pipes, quarter pipes, tables, whoops and a lot of sick, steep micro-lines that have riders from around the west stopping in to make some turns. In the sumer his yard doubles as a skate and bike park that leads into miles of fun singletrack. I will definitely have to get out to Mark's house soon to shoot some more video and photos of his latest features.

Mark loves to ride and he easily has logged more time on a pow - board than anyone else in these parts. Side lined most of last winter with a nasty case of pneumonia he has more than made up for it this season. One of his more recent trips was to B.C. for a cat trip. Arriving as the only pow - board rider in the group of skiers and snow boarders Mark sprung the idea of riding strap-less on the guides. I can just picture the uhhs... and errrs... that were uttered. Eventually the guides found out that Mark could do more than just keep up as he destroyed wind drifts and virgin powder steeps with the greatest of ease.

Just this week Mark was up on the backside of Schweitzer riding the back country with photographer Chris Guibert. It is simple to see that the snow conditions were perfect and the weather bluebird. This area of Schweitzer is probably Mark's favorite local place to ride and he hits it every chance he gets.

Mr. Chillerdeck flies into a freshie. Photo: Guibert

Mark is simply stoked to ride. He can take any board and set of conditions, go out and make it fun. His enthusiasm is infectious and he is always pushing the limits of board design, manufacturing and of course riding.

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